PAST EXHIBITION
Eugene Andolsek
April 18, 2008—May 31, 2008

Press Release

American Primitive Gallery is presenting the second one person show of the drawings of Eugene Andolsek from April 18 to May 31. For fifty years Eugene Andolsek had a secret life creating drawings with vibrant colors and linear complexity in his free time.  Working at this kitchen table on graph paper with compass and straight edge he laid out black lines and geometries filling in spaces with colored inks mixed with eye droppers to achieve dazzling compositions.  The pictures have elaborate layered patterns with the radiance of stained glass and the complexity of molecular structures.
    
Once completed the pictures held no interest for Eugene and were put in the closet or in a trunk.  In fact Eugene did not think of himself as an artist nor see any value in what he created  beyond the desire to draw them each evening.  His drawings gave him a means to cope with his insecurities and dislike for his job as a stenographer for the Rock Island Railroad.  Concentrating on the intricacies of each drawing would release him from worries and make his humble surroundings disappear as he withdrew into his self made world of dazzling colors and spaces created on graph paper.
    
Surprisingly, the pictures created over 50 years were never displayed on his walls nor shown to the outside world.  The drawing were discovered by a caregiver, who recognized their uniqueness and contacted museums.  The art was first exhibited at the American Folk Art Museum in a show Obsessive Drawing curated by Brooke Davis Anderson.  What Eugene humbly suggested might make colorful place mats for lunch are now recognized as a significant art world discovery.
    

Visit Gallery