Stanley Rozysnki
Ceramics and Metals
Biography
The son of Polish immigrants, Stanley Rozynski, born in 1931, was raised in the English-speaking community of eastern Montreal. In 1953, he married Wanda Staniszewska. His first exhibitions of abstract sculptural works, in ceramics and metal, received positive comments from art critics. After living and working in New York for a few years, the couple returned to Montreal in 1960 and founded, in the city center, the Studio Gallery.
From 1965 onwards, the Rozynski’s carried out what would become the project of their lifetime: the establishment of a studio and school in a rural setting. While Wanda focused on teaching and production, Stanley took care of all other aspects of the venture, including preparing meals for students.
Process
A multidisciplinary artist, Stanley “Buddy” Rozynski began his creative journey as a painter. His meeting with free thinkers, such as poet Louis Dudek, as well as Paul-Émile Borduas, author of the Refus Global manifesto, had a major influence on his personal and artistic development. Towards the end of the 1950s, he transited to abstract sculpture in ceramic and metal.
For several decades, he put aside his own art practice in favor of the establishment and operation of The Rozynska Pottery. Following Wanda's death in 2007, Stanley began creating sculptures again, which he exhibited outdoors; some of these are still present today, on the grounds of the Rozysnki Art Center.