Jane Pronko
A Gallery Feature
Biography
Jane Pronko
Jane Pronko was born in East St. Louis, Illinois. She has lived in the Kansas City area since graduating from the University of Kansas. Her studio is located in the River Market district of Kansas City, Missouri. Growing up in a small railroad town very near the city of St. Louis and the industrial area of East St. Louis has influenced the kind of images seen in her work. Urban settings and night scenes are the inspirations for her paintings.
She is represented by galleries in the Midwest and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her work is in public, private, and corporate collections.
Upcoming shows include The Kansas Masters Invitational, opening August 21, 2009 in Manhattan, Kansas. A solo exhibition is scheduled to open in November of ’09 at the Pi Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri which will feature work from the environment around the Art Community in Kansas City.
Artist Statement
I was born in East St. Louis, Illinois and grew up close to a highly industrialized urban area. Landscapes of undefiled nature were not in my early experience. Railroad yards and chemical factories made up my daily visual diet. As a child I imagined the smoke, pollution, and strange shapes of the industrial architecture to be lighted fairy castles and other magical objects. I learned early that night hides the unsightly details of reality and allows the imagination to create mystery. I still find something interesting or seductive in quite unpromising subject matter.
I have been influenced by the work of William Turner and Edward Hopper among others. Turner was able to elevate an industrial object, the train into a spiritual realm with his “Rain, Steam, and Speed.” Edward Hopper addressed directly the urban environment with its emotional tension and loneliness and in the process changed forever the way we see cafes, empty streets and sunlight on houses.
As our world is changed by technology, humanity adapts and so must the artist. Nature that once sustained and nurtured our souls has disappeared or been obscured. Reconciling this loss by finding what one needs in what is here is what I have done in my life and what I now deal with in my work.
Jane Pronko, Devices and Desires
Devices and Desires, oil on canvas
36" x 48"
Jane Pronko, Open 24 Hours
Open 24 Hours, oil on canvas
36" x 48"
Jane Pronko, Going Forward
Going Forward, oil on canvas
30" x24"
Jane Pronko, Where Someone Knows Your Name
Where Someone Knows Your Name, oil on canvas
36" x 52"
Jane Pronko, The Ball Drops Here
The Ball Drops Here, oil on canvas
48" x 72"
Jane Pronko, Leaving Town
Leaving Town, oil on canvas
48" x28"
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