John Lysak

John Lysak’s career has spanned over 40 years as a painter, printmaker, and as a University professor. Lysak is retired from teaching now and is most recently focused on producing new works as a painter and printmaker. He works with a range of processes and techniques including watercolor, acrylic painting, monotype, lithography and screen-printing. Lysak’s latest works portray his interest in the study of nature, his observations of the lay of the land and trying to convey the light and beauty of the natural world. Many of the recent works reflect his study of the landscapes from his travels and capturing the beauty of his home state of Washington and formerly Western Pennsylvania where he lived and taught for 20 years.

His work has evolved over time in medium and content and he often goes back to subjects and styles from various periods of creative productivity, reflecting on the broad subjects of still life, landscape and more figurative works portraying people in everyday activities with a shadowy theatricality and expressionistic undercurrent. Lysak’s imagery is influenced by his study of the natural world and its transcendent mystery and through his interest in art history literature, media and culture. His many series of monotype and ink and watercolor paintings are occupied by introverted, meditative figures dreaming, sleeping, contemplating, the figures of these worlds pensively direct their gaze beyond the boundaries of the painting. Lysak’s stylistic approach captures the expressions and personalities of his subjects, while their singular identities remain mysterious. Veiled in a painterly depiction, his subjects are relatable as they engage in ordinary tasks of everyday life. Subdued earth tones and deep blues, greens, and blacks emphasize the expressive moods of his works.

John Lysak received his B.F.A from Evergreen State College in Olympia, and his M.F.A at Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh. He was a professor of printmaking at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania for two decades. The artist was a Master Printmaker from 1988 to 1995 at Stone Press Editions in Seattle where he collaborated with many artists and helped edition regionally and internationally known artists lithographs. He has been awarded residencies at the Frans Masereel Centrum in Belgium in 2006, 2007, and 2009 and has taught a two week workshop there in monotype techniques. Lysak has also done residencies at Il Bisonte Graphic School of the Arts in Florence Italy. Lysak is frequently invited to present his work in solo and group exhibitions in museums and educational institutions both in this country and abroad, including Il Bisonte Graphic School of Arts. In the Pacific Northwest, the artist’s prints have been shown at the Tacoma Art Museum, Bellevue Arts Museum, and State Capitol Museum. His works can be found in permanent collections including Il Bison Foundation Collection, The Highlands Collection Edinboro University of PA, The University of Colorado - Special collections, The collection of Franz Masereel Centrum Kasterlee Belgium, Universidad Nacional Costa Rica, Seattle University Art Collection, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Erie Art Museum, Erie PA, University of Minnesota prints archive and many others. He has been represented by Harris Harvey Gallery, formerly Lisa Harris Gallery, since 1994.