MKA Teacher Awarded Prestigious NJ Arts Council Fellowship

Congratulations to MKA Upper School F&PA faculty member Nicholas Schutsky who is one of only 15 New Jersey fine artists to be named a recipient of a prestigious 2011 New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship Grant in Painting. These highly competitive awards are based on independent peer panel review of work samples submitted and the anonymous process is focused solely on artistic quality.

Schutsky's award is based on a series of "text paintings" of functional documents revisited as meticulously crafted large-scale oil paintings, which have been exhibited throughout the United States and Europe, and were most recently shown at the Gian Enzo Sperone gallery in Switzerland.  The works, which combine exquisite, hand-painted detail with a humorous subversion of real-life texts (such as the artist's resume, a shipping invoice or a magazine subscription form.) are, in Schutsky's words, "tongue in cheek, making a comment about the business of art."

More recently, he has moved to creating work that is "more intuitive, edgy, and image-based," explaining that "once art-making becomes too comfortable to make, it is time to make a change - otherwise you are simply relying on a formula."  Schutsky, who teaches Fundamentals of Art 1 & 2, Photography, and Studio Art Projects at MKA, attributes his supportive working environment, together with departmental colleagues who are also engaged in creative pursuits, as important factors in helping him continue to develop his own creativity outside the classroom.

The Fellowship Grant will enable Schutsky to purchase materials to continue his practice and possibly travel to see work that he has not seen before.  As he concluded on hearing news of the award, "I am extremely excited about this opportunity!"