Geometric system

“I really love how such a small unit can get together and work with these other things to make larger whole, while still remaining an individual unit,” said Piotrowski. “You could take the unit out of the piece and it could still function. It’s that unit that I’ve been thinking about more in the most recent pieces.”

Lansing Art Gallery’s latest exhibit, “Totems,” features a variety of works by Piotrowski that represent several series of his artistic creations. As guests walk through the exhibit, they can visually experience the development of style implemented in his works, jumping from monochromatic to color and then exploring depth.

Getting back to those small beginnings, Piotrowski starts out his pieces by sketching out small patterns he refers to as “squigs.” Generally these are produced in notebooks or on a computer. Next comes the heavy lifting: Piotrowski cuts out his “canvas” — a unique shape for each piece — from medium density fiberboard and then laminates Masonite on top of it. It’s a process which Piotroski isn’t terribly fond of due to the mess that it makes.

“I love the shapes, but I hate cutting them out,” said Piotrowski. “The process gets really dusty.”

While Piotrowski may have to cough up wood particles for weeks on end, it’s hard to argue with the results. The fruits of his labors are dazzling arrays of interwoven ribbons and geometric shapes, immaculately arranged in a manner that looks like something Escher might have only dreamed about.

One of the series of works featured in “Totems” is “What You Say?!” The five pieces that comprise the series — four of which are on display at Lansing Art Gallery — are exemplary of not only of Piotrowski’s style but also represent of one of his constant inspirations: his family. “What you say” deals with Piotrowski’s daughter, Raven, who, due to complications at birth, was unable to even make noises until she was at about 1 and a half. It wasn’t until about age 4 that Raven was finally able to speak, and would often inquire, “What you say?” For Piotrowski, the question was as heartwarming as it was profound.

“I thought that was so cool to ask that, and it was also like this reverberation off the walls since she hadn’t spoke for so long,” said Piotrowski. “That’s where the radial composition (of the series) came from.”

“Totems” also features several works that succeeded the “What You Say?!” series, and they display an organic progression in Piotrowski’s distinct style.

There are several factors he cites in the development of his craft, but the most influential may be his participation in Grand Rapids’ ArtPrize competition. Piotrowski first participated in 2013 and even managed to find financial backing for his project from local Grand Rapids bar the Apartment Lounge. The financier’s desire was to see him make the work as a mural on the outside of the building. Piotrowski was clueless about mural making, but after consulting a fellow professional artist, he was clued into some high-tech materials which not only helped him complete the 16-foottall outdoor piece — entitled “mediation” — but also inspired the start of his artfueled décor company, “Marked Arts.”

“(With Marked Arts) if you want a man cave that actually looks like a cave, we can do that,” said Piotrowski. “The processes and new materials I learned about during ArtPrize really expanded my ideas.”

There is hardly a dull moment for Petrowski these days. The 45-year-old artist is also an art educator. He teaches at the middle school level but has taught everything from elementary to college level art. Even with such a full plate, Piotrowski is committed to the further development of his style and looks ahead with confidence.

“It’s exciting to me where it’s going.” said Piotrowski. “There is a fusion starting to happen. There is tightness. There is looseness. It feels like my works are more and more becoming complete paintings.”

“Totems”

On display through Aug. 27 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday- Friday; 1-4 p.m. Saturday FREE Lansing Art Gallery 119 N. Washington Square, Lansing (517) 374-6400, lansingartgallery.org