Theo Wujcik
January 29, 1936 Detroit, Michigan–March 29, 2014 Tampa, Florida
Artist Theo Wujcik (1936–2014) was a true original and his work defies categorization. One of the Tampa Bay area’s best-known artists, he was prolific, experimental, and completely dedicated to art, producing an exceptional and eclectic body of fine graphic art (drawing and printmaking) and painting.
There is consensus that Wujcik was just approaching a high point in his career at the time of his passing. His work offers a compelling and relevant narrative of a committed artist of great depth who drew on a boundless creative spirit and whose eclecticism resists and defies categorization.
Valerie Ann Leeds, Phd. Independent Curator
Read Theo Wujcik, An Artist's Artist March 2015 cover story.
Media
Painting, Drawing, Printmaking, and Mixed Media
Educational Background
The National Academy of Design, Mural Workshop
New York, July 12–August 5, 2004
Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Los Angeles, 1967–68
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Postgraduate study in lithography with Garo Antresian, 1967
Creative Graphic Workshop, New York, Student of Robert Blackburn, Summer 1959
Center for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI, 1958–62, diploma
Professional Printing Experience
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 1992
Robert Stackhouse
Graphicstudio, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 1970–71
Shop Director, printed for Nicholas Krushenick, Edward Ruscha, James Rosenquist,
Richard Anuszkiewicz,
Detroit Lithography Workshop, Detroit, MI, 1969
Cofounder, printed Earth Projects suite by Robert Morris, as commissioned by the
Detroit Institute of Arts
Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, 1968
Printed for Jasper Johns
Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Los Angeles, 1967–68
Printed for Karl Kasten, John Altoon, James Strombotne, Billy Al Bengston, Michael Mazur, Eleanor Mikus, Ed Moses
Teaching Experience
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, Associate Professor, 1970–2003
Center for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI, Instructor of Graphics, 1962–70
Selected Solo Exhibitions
Theo Wujcik: A Tribute: A Tribute , Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL
January 24–February 18, 2015
Theo Wujcik Memorial Show, USF CAM, Tampa, Fl May 10, 2015
Blue Chip, Galleri Urbane, Dallas, TX, February 22–March 23, 2014
On a Clear Day, Paintings and Prints, Solo Exhibition,
Tempus Projects, Tampa, FL, April 5–May 3, 2013
Peer Pressure & Snooze You Lose, Solo Print Exhibition,
Galleri Urbane, Dallas, TX, March 5–30, 2013
Paintings, Galleri Urbane, Dallas, TX, March 31–May 1, 2012
Theo Wujcik: A Ten Year Retrospective 2001–2011, Bob Rauschenberg Gallery
Edison State College, Ft. Myers, FL, January 13–February 25, 2012
Return to Sender, Tempus Projects, Tampa, September 16, 2011
Theo Wujcik: Paintings 2000–2010, Fine Arts Gallery, State College of Florida, Bradenton, FL, January 28–February 24, 2010
Global Warming, Millenia Gallery, Orlando, FL, April 7–23, 2006
Blind Couture, Millennia Gallery, Orlando, October 1–20, 2004
30-Year Retrospective, Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland, FL, Oct 26, 2001– Jan 6, 2002; Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, June 14–July 29, 2001; Gulf Coast Museum of Art, Largo, FL, Sept 8–Nov 5, 2000
Selected Group Exhibitions
John Gage 33 1/3, National Gallery of Art, Tbilisi, Georgia (former USSR), May 2013
Ed Ruscha Books & Co., Group Exhibition, Gagosian Gallery, New York, NY
March 5–April 27, 2013
Ed Ruscha Books & Co., Group Exhibition, Gagosian Gallery, New York, NY
March 5–April 27, 2013
The Invisible Elephant, works by Theo Wujcik and Kirk Ke Wang, Cobb, and Elliott Galleries
Eckerd College, St Petersburg, FL, November 5–December 7, 2012
Things Not Seen Before: A Tribute to John Cage, curated by Jade Dellinger,
Bob Rauschenberg Gallery, Edison State College, Ft. Myers, FL, August 24–October 13, 2001
Selected Public Collections
C U Art Museum, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
Portland Museum of Art, Portland, OR
Boston Public Library, Merriam Collection, Boston, MA
Wellesley Partners Limited, Hong Kong
USF CAM, Tampa, FL
The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL
Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland, FL
Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, England
Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Chicago Institute of Art, Chicago. IL
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN
Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, CA
La Jolla Museum of Art, La Jolla, CA
Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth, TX
Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL
Stetson University, Deland, FL
Selected Bibliography
Invisible Elephant: New Works by Theo Wujcik and Kirk Ke Wang,
Exhibition Essay, David E. Gliem, 2012
Transformative Influences: New Works by Theo Wujcik and Wanxin Zhang,
Exhibition Essay, Richard Vine, Senior Editor for Asian Art, Art in America, 2010
Hong Art International China: Theo Wujcik,
Essay by Dr. Margaret Miller, 2008
60 Years of North American Prints,
Boston Printmaking, David Acton, 2007
All-American Art on Display, “Record Eagle,” September 10, 2004, Marta Hepler-Drahos
Miami Herald, July 15, 2001
Art Papers Magazine, Reviews Southeast, 2001, Adrienne Golub
“30 Year Retrospective,” Essay, 2000
Margaret Miller, Conversation with James Rosenquist, Margaret Miller
Public Art Review, Spr/Sum 2000, Vol. II, No. 2, Issue 22, Millenium Survey,
Zeren Earls
The Printworld Directory, Printworld Interview, West Chester, PA, 1998
The New York Times, May 26, 1996,
Helen A. Harrison
Exhibition Essay, Recent Paintings, December 1995, Carter Ratcliff
USF Vol. 35, No. 2, Spring 1993, A Pioneering Spirit Lives on in Ybor City, Todd Simmons
Art Papers,
March 1991, Maria Castagliola
Avant Times, "Exit the 80's”
Michael Hyde, 1989
Made In Florida,
Margaret Miller, 1989
Artists in Michigan, 1900 - 1976,
A Biographical Dictionary, 1989,
Wayne State University Press, Detroit, MI
Modern Master Drawings,
University of Michigan Museum of Art, 1986, Hilarie Faberman
The Fine Line: Drawing with Silver in America, Norton Gallery, 1985, Bruce Weber
New York Times, March 31, 1985,
John Russell
Art Papers, December 1983,
Jodie Conaway
Contemporary American Realism since 1960, New York Graphic Society, 1981,
Frank H. Goodyear, Jr.
American Portrait Drawings,
Smithsonian Institution Press,
Washington, 1980,
Marvin Sadik & Harold Francis Pfister
The New York Times, November 28, 1980, Hilton Kramer
Art News, Vol. 79, No. 3, March 1980, "New Editions,” Suzanne Boorsch
Art News, Vol. 79, No. 3, March 1980, "Printmaking: The Medium Isn't the Message Anymore,” Judith Goldman
Boston University Art Gallery, Boston, Brooke Alexander: A Decade of Print Publishing, February 1978, Judith Goldman
Art News, Vol. 76, No. 7 Sept. 1977, "New Editions,” Ellen Scwartz, page 120
The New York Times, June 3, 1977, John Russell
Arts Magazine, Vol. 51, No. 4, December 1976, Allen Ellenzweig
The New York Times, November 19, 1976, Hilton Kramer
American Master Drawings and Watercolors, Harper & Row, New York, 1976,
Theodore Stebbins, Jr.
The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, 30 Years of American Printmaking, including the 20th National Print Exhibition, 1976, Gene Baro
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT Richard Brown Baker Collects, April 1975, Carol L. Troyen, et al
Brooke Alexander, Inc., New York, Hand Colored Prints, November 1973, Carter Ratcliff
Art News, Vol. 72, No. 7, Sept. 1973, "Exploring the Possibilities of the Print Medium,” Judith Goldman
Print Collectors Newsletter:
Self-Portrait, Tatyana Grosman,
Vol. X, No. 5, November/December 1979
Robert Rauschenberg,
Vol. VIII, No. 2, May/June 1977
Mentors,
Vol. VII, No. 5, November/December 1976
"Hand Colored Editions,
Vol. IV, No. 5, November/December 1973
New Portraits
Vol. IV, No. 2, May/June 1973
Anti-Multiple, Fake Stack, Mud-Muse Doodle,
Vol. IV, No. 2, May/June 1973
James Rosenquist,
Vol. III, No. 5, November/December 1972
St. Petersburg Times, 1982-2010,
Lennie Bennett, Amy Scherzers, Sherri Day, Mary Ann Marger, Anne V. Hull
Tampa Tribune, 1981 - 2013,
Esther Hammer, Harold Valentine, Ben Montgomery, George Wilkens, Joanne Milani, Maggie Hall, Philip Booth, Bob Ross, Paul Wilborn, Jo Ann Dobbs, Kurt Loft, David Okamoto, Linnea S. Dietrich, Jeff Dunlap
Tampa Bay Times, 1991-2012,
Lennie Bennett
Creative Loafing, 1991-2012,
Megan Voeller, Julie Garisto, Christoph Gerozissis, Jenny Carey, Kyle Barnette, Tom Roe
Weekly Planet, 200X-2006,
Megan Voeller, Adrienne Golub, Sterling Powell
Media Appearances
Art in Your Ear, WMNF,
Interviewed by Joe Allen, April 5, 2013
Exhibition Video: Theo Wujcik, Gulf Coast Museum of Art, Largo, FL, February 8-20, 2005
Educational Channel 16, Award Winning Series, Art off the Wall, “Theo Wujcik” 15 minute documentary interview, Laura Tierney, Producer/Director 1999 - 2000
Channel 9 News, Interview “Gateway to the Millennium,” Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL, 1999 - 2000
Channel 13, Good Day Tampa Bay,
Russell Rhodes, Interview, “Undercurrent/Overview III,”
Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL, 1999
Channel 13, Good Day Tampa Bay,
Russell Rhodes, Exhibition Preview, “Gateway to the Millennium,” Museum of Fine Arts,
St. Petersburg, FL, 1999 - 2000
Selected Honors & Awards
Edwin Austin Abbey Memorial Fund for Mural Painting in America, Fellowship,
National Academy of Design, New York, NY, 2004
Individual Artist Fellowship,
Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, 2001-2002
Richard Florsheim Art Fund, Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation,
University of South Florida Publications Council, 2000-2002
National Endowment of the Arts, Through First Night International, “Gateway to the Millennium,” Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL, 1999-2000
Collectors Club, Purchase Award,
Image Brewery, Brandon, FL, 1997
Individual Artist Fellowship, Florida Department of State,
Division of Cultural Affairs, 1996-97
Best of Show, Gasparilla Festival,
Tampa, FL, 1995
Research and Creative Scholarship Grant, "Screenprinting in the 90's,” USF,
Tampa, FL, 1993-94
Kent Harrison Memorial Acquisition Fund,
Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland, FL, 1991
Best In Show, Gasparilla Festival,
Tampa, FL, 1988
Research and Creative Scholarship Grant,
USF, Tampa, FL, 1985
National Endowment for the Arts, Printmaking Fellowship, 1977-78
3rd Miami Graphics Biennial,
Purchase Award, Graphics, 1977
Henry Ford Community College,
Purchase Award, Graphics, 1967
Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award, Graphics, 1964-65
53rd Exhibition for Michigan Artists,
Scarab Club Award, Painting, 1963