April 2017 Exhibition link
October 2020 Exhibition link
Sean M. Witucki (American, 1977-) is an American painter in the Naturalist tradition, who obtained his BS and MS in Visual Art Education from the State University of New York at Buffalo, NY. Sean is an internationally collected, self-taught painter, who is continuously focused on developing his skills in the techniques of the traditional masters. Sean has a strong interest, and is heavily influenced by, the Hudson River School and Dutch Still Life painters. Like these traditions, Sean’s focus is on painting unswervingly from life or from studies that have been created this way. He has been a drawing and painting instructor at the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts since 2002. His curriculum focuses on teaching skill based work to the next generation of artists.
Sean reveals a personal expression of landscapes and still lives which pay homage to his formative years. He spent much of his youth roaming the fields and woods on the edge of the Berkshire Mountains in Monson, Massachusetts. This is where his understanding of the natural world took its roots. Those experiences have influenced and played a major role in the subjects he chooses to paint.
Sean is a member of the Copley Society of Artists, Buffalo Society of Artists, Oil painters of America, Western New York Artist Group and is a Grand Central Atelier, Hudson River Fellow.
Having relocated in his teens, Sean has put his roots down and made his home in Western New York with his wife and two children.
Artist Statement:
I have been immersed in nature from a young age, it is who I am as a person and as a painter. All of Gods creations have provided an infinite amount of subjects and inspiration to work from. It is what the viewers soul feels when looking at a painting that matters to me. The emotional response it creates, the story it tells is…
Painting for me, is learning. When I am passionate about a subject, I want to know as much about it as possible. By slowing down and observing, I am able to connect and learn not only about the subject, but about myself. Painting a landscape allows me, in my imagination, to walk the same land with all of the human life and creatures of the past. I am able to learn why a mountain is shaped the way it is or why a stream flows the way it does. Still life allows me to spend time reflecting on my experiences with the objects or with the people to whom they belonged. With the figure, I have the opportunity to paint the people who influence my life. I can ponder who they were in the past or who they may be in the future.
All of the subjects I paint allow me to understand and reflect on two very important aspects in my life; love and beauty. I feel very fortunate, by the Grace of God, to be able to appreciate and experience love and beauty. To me love and beauty come in many forms such as life, death, joy and sorrow. These are emotions we all experience at some point in our lives and is how we are able to see and understand the love and beauty within these experiences that matters.
I have never questioned my basic methods of traditional techniques in painting. Within this method, I allow myself the freedom to experiment with variation. Whether I use thin or thick paint, dull or bright colors, traditional Hudson River School or Tonalist techniques, my style varies, changes and evolves. I want to constantly challenge myself, cultivate, mature and learn more.
I have never personally considered myself an artist. Just a man who appreciates and shares the beauty that surrounds us all.
Selected Exhibitions:
2020- Meibohm Fine Arts, East Aurora, NY, Gratia Dei, Solo. American Tonalist Society, Best In Tonalism 2020. Vining Gallery, Indianapolis, IN. West End Galley, Little Gems, Corning, NY.
2019- Art Renewal Center, 14th International Salon Competition, Finalist. West End Gallery, Deck The Walls, Corning, NY. Meibohm Fine Arts, In A Nutshell, East Aurora, NY. Plein Air Salon April/May, Best Nocturne, PleinAir magazine. Landscape Today, Harrison Center, Indianapolis, IN. Oxford Gallery, Metamorphosis, Rochester, NY. Oxford Gallery, Among Untrodden Ways, Rochester, NY. Meibohm Fine Arts, Dusk to Dawn, East Aurora, NY. Crary Art Gallery, Sean Witucki, Classical Landscapes. Warren, PA – Solo. Buffalo Club, Still Lives, Buffalo, NY. Copley Society of Artists. New Members Show, Boston, MA.
2018- ArtPrize Invitational, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Grand Rapids, MI. Art Dialogue Gallery, Three Artist Friends Thomas Kegler, John Brach and Sean Witucki, Buffalo, NY. Oil Painters of America Salon Show, Traverse City, MI. Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA. Oxford Gallery, Ode To Joy, Rochester, NY. Western New York Artist Group, 22nd Annual Juried Members Exhibition of Traditional Works, Buffalo, NY, Award: Best In Show.
2017- Bausch & Lomb, Corporate Art Program, Rochester, NY. Daemen College, NYSATA Region 1, Buffalo, NY. Buffalo Society of Artists 121st Catalogue Exhibition, Buffalo, NY. Meibohm Fine Arts, Benefit Exhibition for the WNY Land Conservancy, The Art of Native Plants. Meibohm Fine Arts, John Brach and Sean Witucki Recent Works, East Aurora, NY, Two Person Exhibition.
2016- Award: Hudson River Fellowship, Grand Central Atelier, Jackson, NH. Hudson River Fellowship Group Show, Jackson NH. Meibohm Fine Arts, East Aurora, NY. Buffalo Society of Arts, Celebrating 125 Years- Thumb Box Exhibit. Western New York Artist Group, 20th Annual Juried Members Exhibition, Buffalo, NY, Award: Second Place. Art Dialogue, Artists Group Gallery, Buffalo, NY, Trilogies, The Work of Three Artists. Frederic Remington Museum. Main Street Arts, Setting The Table, Clifton Springs, NY.
2015- Main Street Arts, Clifton Springs, NY. 2nd Annual Small Works Juried Exhibition NYSATA Region 1, Daemen College, Buffalo, NY, Award: Best In Show. Las Laguna Gallery, Landscapes, Seascapes, Skyscapes, Laguna Beach, CA. Buffalo Society of Artists, 119th Annual Juried Spring Exhibition, North Tonawanda, NY. Western New York Artist Group, 19th Annual Juried Members Exhibition, Buffalo, NY, Award: Best In Show. Prince Street Gallery, 7th Annual National Juried Exhibition, New York, NY.
2014- Main Street Arts, 1st Annual Small Works Juried Exhibition, Clifton Springs, NY. 79th Annual Cooperstown Art Association National Juried Exhibition, Cooperstown, NY.
Awards & Honors: Best in Show, Western New York Artist Group, 22nd Annual Juried Members Exhibition of Traditional Works, Buffalo, NY, 2018; Hudson River Fellowship, Grand Central Atelier, 2016; Second Place, Western New York Artist Group, 20th Annual Juried Members Exhibition, Buffalo, NY, 2016; Best In Show, NYSATA Region 1, Daemen College, Buffalo, NY, 2015; Best in Show, Western New York Artist Group, 19th Annual Juried Members Exhibition, Buffalo, NY, 2015; and El Museo Francisco Oller Diego Rivera, Honorable Mention.
Memberships & Affiliations: Oil Painters of America, Associate Exhibiting Member; Western New York Artist Group, Buffalo, NY; Buffalo Society of Artists, Buffalo, NY; Grand Central Atelier Hudson River Fellow, Long Island City, NY and the Copley Society of Artists, Boston, MA.
Gallery Representation: Meibohm Fine Arts, East Aurora, NY; Oxford Gallery, Rochester, NY; West End Gallery, Corning, NY.
Artist Website: seanwitucki.com
(Source: Biographical information supplied by the artist.)
