Riverland Community College

The current show in the James Wegner Art Gallery features oil paintings by long time Mankato artist William Bukowski. Bukowski’s paintings offer us a refreshing last breath of Minnesota summer’s sunny days, as shown in gardens, lakes and the occasional backyard. Bill Bukowski believes that art should derive from personal direct perception, and his works begin on location. This approach to painting outdoors, directly from life, or en plein air, challenges the artist to focus and convey his impression of the subject despite changing light conditions. Time suspends for the artist as he recreates his moments of inspiration, by combining knowledge, intuition and insight with his perception. Often, the beauty of light and shadow are emphasized in complex and richly detailed scenes. Bukowski adopts the broken brushstrokes of the Impressionists, which create lively visual movement across the surfaces of his work.  

William Bukowski has had over twenty solo shows of his work throughout the state. His paintings are included in the collections of Mayo Clinic Rochester, the University of Minnesota, the University of North Dakota, St. Paul Children’s hospital, and many others. He has been a fulltime faculty member at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato since 1980.

Please join us for a closing reception for the artist on October 28 at 1:30pm, where he will do a public talk about the works in the show and also show slides of earlier efforts. Light refreshments will be served.