bio
Maxwell Zawatsky is an artist and scholar currently based in Vermont. In 2022, he graduated from Capital University with degrees in Studio Art (BA), Art History, and Literature (minors). He has been a recipient of the Ida Jane Aitken Art Scholarship, the Diversity & Inclusion Research Award, and the Boyd Fund for Undergraduate Scholarship, all of which were awarded by Capital University. His work has been presented at Capital's Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mid-America College Art Association (MACAA), the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), Capital University's Schumacher Gallery (Bexley, OH), Roy G Biv Gallery (Columbus, OH), Eastern Michigan University's University Gallery (Ypsilanti, MI), and Dream Clinic Project Space (Columbus, OH). He takes an interdisciplinary approach to artmaking and research, studying topics such as play and artmaking, ecocriticism, and media studies.
artist statement
In my art practice, I aim to build whimsical, fictional worlds that reference the physical environments I regularly participate in. These worlds investigate everyday life and attempt to entrench adolescent glee into seemingly mundane activities and experiences. I aim to construct worlds that are both within reach and unreachable; these spaces become recognizable, yet somewhat otherworldly. This way of making allows me to occupy the area between what is “real” and what is “fantasy,” ultimately giving me a place to both cope with the complexity that permeates everyday life and imagine alternatives to current systems and structures. It is through these worlds that I envision a place where play is vital to everyday existence, instead of being suppressed by constant work and responsibility.
These mediums encourage both intimacy and play between myself and the work, and I allow myself to become immersed not only in the act of making but also in the world being materialized. I use ceramic, acrylic, crayon, marker, pencil, pen, and paper, among others, in aims to capture memories and moments instantaneously when they appear; this immediacy encourages unrestrained making, focusing less on “correct” technique and more on the vision being imagined. I find the use of these materials vital to my artmaking; these materials, which mimic those that were available to me as a child, help reinforce my pursuit of play and legitimize the use of “adolescent” materials. Using these materials encourages constructive conversation on how art is talked about and categorized, giving much needed representation to materials easily available to all. Through this investigation, I aim to make my work more widely accessible for viewers, showcasing that anyone–and any materials–can play an important role in contemporary artmaking.
Attention is given to humanoid, anthropomorphized, and abstracted forms, food, plants, weather, color, and pattern. The humanoid forms depicted represent aspects of human activity; they are ambiguous impressions rather than specific traits. Events and experiences with a myriad of human interactions drain my body and mind of energy, and these impressions are left for me to analyze.
Maxwell Zawatsky is an artist and scholar currently based in Vermont. In 2022, he graduated from Capital University with degrees in Studio Art (BA), Art History, and Literature (minors). He has been a recipient of the Ida Jane Aitken Art Scholarship, the Diversity & Inclusion Research Award, and the Boyd Fund for Undergraduate Scholarship, all of which were awarded by Capital University. His work has been presented at Capital's Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mid-America College Art Association (MACAA), the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), Capital University's Schumacher Gallery (Bexley, OH), Roy G Biv Gallery (Columbus, OH), Eastern Michigan University's University Gallery (Ypsilanti, MI), and Dream Clinic Project Space (Columbus, OH). He takes an interdisciplinary approach to artmaking and research, studying topics such as play and artmaking, ecocriticism, and media studies.
artist statement
In my art practice, I aim to build whimsical, fictional worlds that reference the physical environments I regularly participate in. These worlds investigate everyday life and attempt to entrench adolescent glee into seemingly mundane activities and experiences. I aim to construct worlds that are both within reach and unreachable; these spaces become recognizable, yet somewhat otherworldly. This way of making allows me to occupy the area between what is “real” and what is “fantasy,” ultimately giving me a place to both cope with the complexity that permeates everyday life and imagine alternatives to current systems and structures. It is through these worlds that I envision a place where play is vital to everyday existence, instead of being suppressed by constant work and responsibility.
These mediums encourage both intimacy and play between myself and the work, and I allow myself to become immersed not only in the act of making but also in the world being materialized. I use ceramic, acrylic, crayon, marker, pencil, pen, and paper, among others, in aims to capture memories and moments instantaneously when they appear; this immediacy encourages unrestrained making, focusing less on “correct” technique and more on the vision being imagined. I find the use of these materials vital to my artmaking; these materials, which mimic those that were available to me as a child, help reinforce my pursuit of play and legitimize the use of “adolescent” materials. Using these materials encourages constructive conversation on how art is talked about and categorized, giving much needed representation to materials easily available to all. Through this investigation, I aim to make my work more widely accessible for viewers, showcasing that anyone–and any materials–can play an important role in contemporary artmaking.
Attention is given to humanoid, anthropomorphized, and abstracted forms, food, plants, weather, color, and pattern. The humanoid forms depicted represent aspects of human activity; they are ambiguous impressions rather than specific traits. Events and experiences with a myriad of human interactions drain my body and mind of energy, and these impressions are left for me to analyze.
