Iron Spring by Andrew Stys, Mixed Media

14 x 18 Original Artwork Paper Collage and Acrylic Paints on Canvas Stretched on Hardboard  Giclee Prints, 16 x 20, -$100 each For Inquiries Contact Gallery at 917-472-9015 | email. info@newyorkart.com   Bio: I think I’m dumb… I was born in the last century. Sometime in the late 1970s I started to create my own stuff: collage, drawings, photography. In 1975 I became involved, by chance, with the Józef Szajna’s  Studio Theatre in Warsaw. Jerzy Kalina, an avant-garde artist, was organizing a performance/action/exhibition/happening, and needed volunteers. I don’t remember the event’s name. It meant to be about YOU, like in ‘about me’; it was a massive experience. I created an assemblage and then, on the opening night of the exhibit, I participated in an improvised performance. It was even more fun than studying architecture. In 1981 I have received the architectural diploma at Warsaw’s Technical University. In the autumn of the same year, I skipped the Iron Curtain and have arrived in London.  I’ve made the living working sweat shops and, later on, London pubs. I kept observing, drawing, and collaging. By 1987, I have rediscovered the architect inside me. In 1989 I received my British diploma at the Southbank Polytechnic. In essence, I am 9-5 architect and 24-7 artist. 1990s sucked. I was a family man, acting as the beast of burden and creating artworks late at night. There was no internet, so I did stuff like assemblages - many of them. The Millennium was a turning point. I stopped being the regular guy. The launch of the Internet was a godsend, wasn’t it? Getting in touch with people and collaborating was so much easier than ever. I visited Mexico, spread my wings and started to fly.  Saying this, I am passionately involved in the mail art. I know some pretty cool and challenging artists. This activity keeps me alive more than anything else.