Alan Prazniak’s World and the Worlds He Paints
This past fall, I started to see Alan Prazniak’s paintings in many of the Instagram feeds that I follow and I couldn’t help but notice how much substance was packed into these small paintings. The works, all of which are oil on linen, are densely packed with color and imagery that provide a journey into a landscape that feels warm with a bit mystery and edge. I loved the fact that they were clearly different from everything else I was seeing. They were not of the moment, but at the same type ahead of the moment. This is what differentiation is about and when you see Alan’s work it is undeniably his own.
The mood these paintings create draws me closer, sort of like the feeling you get when a bass line and drum beat invites you to listen more closely to a song; think Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust”. Before you know it, you are exploring, dissecting and dancing with these paintings. That’s what the best art does for me, it captures me, draws me closer, forces me to engage with focus and puts a smile on my face.
Alan is a 32-year-old painter from the suburban Philadelphia area who received his BFA from Tyler at Temple and his MFA from Mason Gross at Rutgers. Like most of the young artists that I admire, he is fully committed to his practice and you can tell right away that this is what he was born to do. I visited his studio last week and was enamored to see how thoughtful he was about his approach to making art, and the journey he has embarked on as an artist looking for representation and trying to carve out a niche in this super challenging space.
One River School will be launching our new school in Millburn, NJ in late March with an exhibition of Alan’s work. I am thrilled to celebrate what he does and personally share his story and artwork with our new community.
Authentic is not something you can simply create. Plain and simple, you are or you aren’t authentic. Alan has this in spades. When you combine it with the soulful imagery, beautiful brushwork, interesting use of color and imagery that is both classic and contemporary, I believe Alan is a painter to watch over the next few years.
With all of this in mind, we are thrilled to show Alan’s work as part of the launch for our new school in Millburn, NJ this spring, only 30 minutes from where Alan paid his dues at Rutgers. This is going be exciting on so many levels, and I invite you all to see these works first hand and to follow Alan’s journey in life, and of course, on Instagram.