George Dombek, who divides his time between Brooklyn, N.Y., and Goshen, donated a 40-by-40-inch watercolor from his “Ozark Portrait” series to the University of Arkansas Library on May 19. The painting, titled “Medal of Honor ” features bygone common household and farm tools and will hang in the Fine Arts Library.
“The subjects are pieces of farm equipment: primarily exhaust pipes and oil cans, usually worn and rusty,” Dombek said. “As the series progressed, the subjects began to take on lifelike forms, thus the name ‘Ozark Portrait.’ For instance, a group of cans became a ‘family:’ grandmother, grandfather and their triplet grandchildren. Now I’ve reached a point where I have specific people in mind when I do a new Ozark Portrait piece.”
Originally from Paris, Ark., Dombek received a bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1974 and a master’s of fine arts degree in painting in 1975 from the UA. During a 40-year period, Dombek has produced a catalog of work, mostly watercolor, that features his brand of abstract realism. His works have appeared in more than 800 museum, corporate and private collections and have been exhibited in more than 150 solo and group shows, including at the Arkansas Arts Center, the Butler Institute of American Art, the Carnegie Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Art, the Birmingham Museum of Art and the Oakland Museum. He has received more than 80 awards.
from: Northwest Arkansas Faces, June 1 2008
