4.13.2023 - 4.13.2024
Happiness Is refers to a popular jazz song by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, and probably best known for being played in Peanuts cartoons. I approach my paintings, at least in my mind, as a musician might to song construction- I want to see the representation of a repetitive three note "pulse" of the piano, specifically, in that composition. The pink ground plays the left hand, and the blues and yellows are the right hand.
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About James Emmett Jankowiak
b. 1969. Chicago born artist and educator James Jankowiak’s current paintings and installation focuses on the role of color and familiar form as a means of communication in our day to day environment. His emotive abstract paintings and public artworks explore the intersections between color perception, visual rhythm, spirituality and music.
Jankowiak has utilized his painting practice as a vehicle for social engagement with Chicago communities as a teaching artist embedded in Chicago Public Schools. Jankowiak integrates contemporary art into a social and emotional learning model for students and teachers alike, using accessible, collaborative art practices, focusing on the process of making public works in public spaces.
Jankowiak has been the recipient of several grants and special commissions, including the Union Station Transit Center in the heart of Chicago, The Illinois Holocaust Museum’s Family Youth Center, and The Chicago White Sox. He is currently working with the Department of Cultural and Special Events of the city of Chicago on a new permanent public artwork for the West Town Public Library on the Southwest Side of the city, where he has been a lifetime resident.
