Barbara Januszkiewicz is a Washington, D.C.-based American multimedia artist, creative activist, and teacher known for her stained neo- Color field

abstract expressionism Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

paintings. She works in water based media, specifically watercolor and diluted acrylic paint on unprepared canvas in the manner of Morris Louis and Helen Frankenthaler. She uses brushes to control her fans of color rather than create pours in her color field works. Januszkiewicz's paintings are inspired by her interest in the overlap of the vocabularies involved with visual art and music. Her visual interpretation in painting employs large color fields that meld and overlap in translucent layers, evoking the rhythm and flow of her musical inspiration. Januszkiewicz is listed as a notable artist presented at the

Artomatic Artomatic is a multi-week, multimedia arts event held in the Washington, D.C. area. It was founded by Washington, D.C artist and arts activist George Koch. The non-juried, open event has provided a forum for artists of all types (visual, performan ...

exhibition. She has done a documentary film work with musical composer Matthew Shipp, sculptor Hilda Thorpe, and painter Paul Reed.

Education

Januszkiewicz was trained under the Chinese master Mun Quan at Jacksonville University in the late 1970s. Paul Reed, a member of the

Washington Color School The Washington Color School, also known as the Washington, D.C., Color School, was an art movement starting during the 1950s–1970s in Washington, D.C., in the United States, built of abstract expressionist artists. The movement emerged during ...

, mentored Januszkiewicz.

Career

In 1997, Januszkiewicz began doing research on the Washington Color School by interviewing Hilda Thorpe. The interview was printed in the Washington Review Newspaper Volume XXV1 No.1 June/July 2000, and broadcast on Public Access TV stations as part of a Creative Vision for the Arts around the Metropolitan DC area. It is now archived on YouTube. In 2014, Januszkiewicz continued doing historical research for the documentary film about the Washington Color School titled "Unprimed Canvas". Paul Reed acted as a historical consultant for the film which was released in 2015. Also in 2015 Januszkiewicz launched a pay it forward, noncommercial gallery space, Metro Micro Gallery in Northern Virginia. In 2016 while continuing to research the Washington Color School Januszkiewicz was granted access to the Melzac Collection, the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

's so-called "secret" collection of works of abstract art. In 2017, Januszkiewicz was commissioned to do a 30 foot long fine art mural, titled "Coming Together". This project was intended to help with the revitalization, preservation, and redevelopment of the Virginia Square area in Arlington, VA. In 2019, Januszkiewicz was commissioned to do several works for the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing Columbia Hills Apartments in Northern Virginia. In 2020 Januszkiewicz's work appeared in "Statecraft: The Bush 41 Team", a TV Movie; which was released on PBS. In 2021 Januszkiewicz's work was shown internationally at the transcendence themed " Art in Embassies" exhibition in Turkey. In 2022 Januszkiewicz was selected to do the art installation at the new MetroStage theater of the new Alexandria Art District.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Januszkiewicz, Barbara Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Painters from Washington, D.C. Abstract expressionist artists Jacksonville University alumni 21st-century American women educators 21st-century American educators