Henry Gorski (1918–2010) was an American Figurative Expressionist artist.arttoscience.org/Gorski%20Brochure%20Final_small.pdf Born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, of Polish descent, Gorski received his BFA from the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 18 ...

in 1939. Gorski lived in the

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

, area, and was married to the textile artist Bernie Gorski. Active from 1948 through 2003, Gorski's method and style developed throughout his long career. Gorski is widely known for his sports lithographs and self-portraits. His canvases deal actively with religion, politics, and human suffering.Megan James
Art Meets Scientific Theory in a Provocative Burlington Exhibit
''Seven Days'' (Burlington, Vermont), July 20, 2011 Gorski's early work deals largely with his experiences in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

while serving as a cartographer in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

. Later works deal with discomfort with the

Vietnam war The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

("Ship of Fools"), sexuality ("The Rape of the Rose"), and his own family life ("The Child of Darkness"). Gorski termed much of his work from the 1960s as his "Pain-Things Series". These paintings were exhibited nationally and internationally and hung alongside works by Robert Rauschenberg,

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

, and

Elaine de Kooning Elaine Marie Catherine de Kooning (, née Fried; March 12, 1918 – February 1, 1989) was an Abstract Expressionist and Figurative Expressionist painter in the post-World War II era. She wrote extensively on the art of the period and was an edit ...

. Later in his career, Gorski became very interested in the role of the athlete in society and created many art themed paintings, including "Blocked" and "Black Hawk Goalie". Gorski's last works dealt primarily with issues of disability, depicting

autistic The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

and developmentally disabled youths. Many of Gorski's works have been collected by Albert J. Levis and are now part of the permanent collection of the

Museum of the Creative Process The Museum of the Creative Process is a museum and learning center dedicated to understanding the role of creativity as a conflict resolving mechanism. Founded and directed by Albert Levis, M.D., the museum brings together a global collection of c ...

. Levis, a psychiatrist, worked closely with Gorski, using Gorski's canvases to articulate a theory of unconscious dynamics present within the creative process. In 2009, a Gorski retrospective was held at the Chaffee Art Center in

Rutland, Vermont Rutland, Vermont may refer to: *Rutland (city), Vermont * Rutland (town), Vermont *Rutland County, Vermont *West Rutland, Vermont West Rutland is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 census. The t ...

, titled "Stealing the Fire of the Gods". In 2011, the Art's Alive Gallery at Main Street Landing's Union Station in Burlington, Vermont, hosted the Gorski retrospective in an exhibit titled "Art as Evidence of Science".

References

External links

Virtual tour of Gorski Retrospective

Museum of the Creative Process
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorski, Henry 1918 births 2010 deaths 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters 21st-century American male artists American people of Polish descent Expressionist painters Artists from Buffalo, New York University at Buffalo alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century American male artists