User:Ntetkowski

http://www.tetkowski.com/

Born in 1955, Neil Tetkowski’s early years were spent in Siena, Italy where he went to grammar school for several years. Both parents were in the arts providing an early foundation for what would become a lifetime passion for creativity, education and a fascination with diverse cultures of the world. Before his tenth birthday he had visited museums and cultural landmarks in more than twenty countries.

Neil Tetkowski’s material of choice comes directly from the Earth. Most often he uses clay, which he believes is the perfect medium to express his relationship to the natural environment. Since 1980, Tetkowski has exhibited his artwork in galleries and museums. He has a special interest in Japanese culture and has had three solo exhibitions in Tokyo. Tetkowski’s work has been exhibited at the International Art Biennale, in Beijing, China. Additionally, the artist has received numerous grants and fellowships including a Ford Foundation grant. His artwork is widely published and placed in permanent collections of 45 museums including the Victoria and Albert in London, the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American Art, in Washington, D.C. and the Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo.

In 2000, Tetkowski conceived and built a sculpture at the United Nations using a blend of earth materials from every nation. There he physically involved people from every country of the world. The Common Ground World Project was officially endorsed at the United Nations as an environmental project and was exhibited in its completed form in 2002 at the Visitor’s Lobby in New York.

Neil Tetkowski holds degrees from Alfred University and from Illinois State University. He has been a professor at Denison University in Ohio, the State University College at Buffalo and at Parsons School of Design in New York City. Neil Tetkowski lives in Manhattan and is the Director of University Galleries at Kean University in Union, New Jersey.