Ken Mazzu

Ken Mazzu Biography

Ken Mazzu

(American, b. 1967)

B.F.A. Lamar University 1992                                      

M.F.A. University of Houston 1997

Campbell Center For Historic Preservation Studies, Mount Carroll, Illinois 1998

Member, American Alliance of Museums, 2014 - Present

Instructor, Glassell School of Art, Studio School, 2006 - Present

AWARDS & HONORS:

Scholarship Grant, Leslie T. and Frances U. Posey Foundation, Sarasota, Florida 1995

Friends of Art Scholarship, University of Houston 1995

Selected EXHIBITIONS

2016    FINALIST: 2016 Hunting Art Prize!

2015    SOLO EXHIBITION: Deconstruction Beauty, Katy Contemporary Arts Museum, Katy, Texas. September 17 - November 15, 2015.

Group Exhibition: Structure, Bank of America Center Lobby, 700 Louisiana Street, Houston, Texas, August 13 - December 9, 2015. Organized by Kinzelman Art Consulting.

2014    Group Exhibition: Beyond Graphite: Fab 15 + Performance, G Gallery, Houston, Texas, July 5 - 25, 2014. Curated by Catherine D. Anspon.

2013    Faculty Exhibition: 35 Years in the Glass Block Building, Laura Lee Blanton Gallery, The Glassell School of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, December 13, 2013 - February 23, 2014.

SOLO EXHIBITION: Echoes of Oblivion, Art Car Museum, Houston, Texas. June 29 - August 25, 2013.

FINALIST: 2013 Hunting Art Prize!

2012    Group Exhibition: Texas A&M University, MSC Forsyth Center Galleries, 4th Annual Regional Juried Art Exhibition, College Station, Texas. April 21 - August 19, 2012.

Two - Person Exhibition: Before Time, We Stand And Crumble, University of Texas at San Antonio, UTSA Satellite Space, San Antonio, Texas. May 31 - June 17, 2012.

2011    Group Exhibition: Gambol: Art League Houston’s 2011 Juried Member Exhibition, Houston, Texas. December 2 - December 31, 2011.

2010    Group Exhibition: 20 On Paper, Williams Tower Gallery, Houston, Texas. December 7, 2010 - January 7, 2011.

Group Exhibition: A Homecoming: A Tribute To Professor Emeritus Jerry Newman, Dishman Art Museum, Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas. October 7 - November 10, 2010.

Group Exhibition: Artists In Academics: Works By Houston Arts Faculty, Beeville Art Museum; Beeville, Texas. May 3 - July 17, 2010.

2008     Detrital Terrain, Lone Star College- North Harris, Houston, Texas

2007     Artifacts of Reason, Poissant Gallery, Houston, Texas

2000     Ken Mazzu: Excavations, The New Gallery, Houston, Texas

1997     Recent Paintings: Ken Mazzu, Small Projects Gallery, The University of Houston, Houston, Texas

CORPORATE COLLECTIONS:

The Williard Law Firm, L.P., Houston, Texas

Weingarten Realty, Houston, Texas

Vinson & Elkins, LLP, Houston Texas

Longhorn Steel & Flamecutting, Houston, Texas

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

South Main Baptist Church, Houston, Texas

Dishman Art Museum, Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas

Beaumont Art League, Beaumont, Texas

Ken Mazzu Description

Ken Mazzu (American, b. 1967)

B.F.A. Lamar University 1992                                      

M.F.A. University of Houston 1997

Campbell Center For Historic Preservation Studies, Mount Carroll, Illinois 1998

Member, American Alliance of Museums, 2014 - Present

Instructor, Glassell School of Art, Studio School, 2006 - Present

AWARDS & HONORS:

Scholarship Grant, Leslie T. and Frances U. Posey Foundation, Sarasota, Florida 1995

Friends of Art Scholarship, University of Houston 1995

Selected EXHIBITIONS

2016    FINALIST: 2016 Hunting Art Prize!

2015    SOLO EXHIBITION: Deconstruction Beauty, Katy Contemporary Arts Museum, Katy, Texas. September 17 - November 15, 2015.

Group Exhibition: Structure, Bank of America Center Lobby, 700 Louisiana Street, Houston, Texas, August 13 - December 9, 2015. Organized by Kinzelman Art Consulting.

2014    Group Exhibition: Beyond Graphite: Fab 15 + Performance, G Gallery, Houston, Texas, July 5 - 25, 2014. Curated by Catherine D. Anspon.

2013    Faculty Exhibition: 35 Years in the Glass Block Building, Laura Lee Blanton Gallery, The Glassell School of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, December 13, 2013 - February 23, 2014.

SOLO EXHIBITION: Echoes of Oblivion, Art Car Museum, Houston, Texas. June 29 - August 25, 2013.

FINALIST: 2013 Hunting Art Prize!

2012    Group Exhibition: Texas A&M University, MSC Forsyth Center Galleries, 4th Annual Regional Juried Art Exhibition, College Station, Texas. April 21 - August 19, 2012.

Two - Person Exhibition: Before Time, We Stand And Crumble, University of Texas at San Antonio, UTSA Satellite Space, San Antonio, Texas. May 31 - June 17, 2012.

2011    Group Exhibition: Gambol: Art League Houston’s 2011 Juried Member Exhibition, Houston, Texas. December 2 - December 31, 2011.

2010    Group Exhibition: 20 On Paper, Williams Tower Gallery, Houston, Texas. December 7, 2010 - January 7, 2011.

Group Exhibition: A Homecoming: A Tribute To Professor Emeritus Jerry Newman, Dishman Art Museum, Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas. October 7 - November 10, 2010.

Group Exhibition: Artists In Academics: Works By Houston Arts Faculty, Beeville Art Museum; Beeville, Texas. May 3 - July 17, 2010.

2008     Detrital Terrain, Lone Star College- North Harris, Houston, Texas

2007     Artifacts of Reason, Poissant Gallery, Houston, Texas

2000     Ken Mazzu: Excavations, The New Gallery, Houston, Texas

1997     Recent Paintings: Ken Mazzu, Small Projects Gallery, The University of Houston, Houston, Texas

CORPORATE COLLECTIONS:

The Williard Law Firm, L.P., Houston, Texas

Weingarten Realty, Houston, Texas

Vinson & Elkins, LLP, Houston Texas

Longhorn Steel & Flamecutting, Houston, Texas

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

South Main Baptist Church, Houston, Texas

Dishman Art Museum, Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas

Beaumont Art League, Beaumont, Texas

Ken Mazzu Statement

KEN MAZZU

ARTIST STATEMENT

     When I was a child I used to build model airplanes which often broke accidentally.  They usually ended up in the backyard where I either shot them with my B.B. gun, blew them up with firecrackers or set them on fire and photographed them.  In the course of such action, my parents would often ask, "Why don't you do something constructive instead of destructive?"  Little did I know then, that question and those actions would lead to an interest in making art; now professionally for a solid twenty years!

    It is important to note that previous investigations in painting have focused on ideas of industrial decay and urban detritus. Much of this work has evolved intuitively from imagination without the aid of photography.

     In contrast, for some time now, I have been interested in painting from an older (and now current) series of my own personal photographs of controlled demolition sites in Central Houston.  Within and beyond the last decade, Houston has seen a downtown renaissance, an ongoing mid-town re-development and exponential neighborhood growth.  My intention is to document, with painting, significant selections from this rapidly changing architectural climate.

     This series began as a form of abstract painting. The focus then shifted toward a poetic pursuit of the art-historical theme of painted ruins. Then again recycled into a general form of cityscape commentary, the series has now become specific visual documentary of the deconstruction of Houston architecture.

-Ken Mazzu, 2017