New Artist Exhibit At Crawfordsville District Public Library

By:Toni Ridgway-Woodall

The Mary Bishop Memorial Gallery at the Crawfordsville District Public Library would like to invite the public to view international artist, August Kocahnowski. This exhibit is currently open and will be on display through July 14th. The public is encouraged to visit the gallery during CDPL’s regular hours of operation. Do not miss your opportunity to see this exhibit.

August Kochanowski is a fourth-generation blacksmith living and working in Central Wisconsin’s heart. He received his MFA in sculpture from the Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis, and his BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He was chosen for the 2017 Fellowship at the Ox-Bow School of Art and Artist’s Residency in Saugatuck, Michigan; in 2020, he was the visiting artist for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point; and in 2022 he participated in iron pour at the Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum in Solsberry, Indiana.

Kochanowski’s exhibit celebrates the work boot as a symbol of identity and urges the audience to embrace one’s unique narrative regardless of societal expectations. To Walk a Mile emphasizes two aspects – the alcove installation of the same name, and variations of the human figure in an adjoining space. Both sections touch upon characteristics of his personal identity.

To Walk a Mile is a story about the passage of time for Kochanowski as an artist and craftsman. Beyond the physical representation, the work boots become a metaphorical extension of the sculptor’s inner self. The worn and weathered boots speak of resilience in the face of challenges and the ability to endure long hours involved in the family business as a blacksmith, shaping iron. By the end of each year, he is left with a pair of worn-out work boots after creating several works of art, forging iron, and taking countless steps.

The absence of shoelaces recalls the resourceful habits which were passed down by the artist’s grandparents who fled war-torn Poland after World War II and immigrated to the United States. When shoes wore out, the shoelaces were always salvaged and kept in a box for another day’s use.

Two particular attributes of this exhibition lie in the range of sizes portrayed in the boots – from oversized weathered boots in cast iron to elegant verdigris bronze, then finally miniature

boots blushed with gold. Moreover, the choice of material further enhances the narrative of artistic growth and transformation. The progression from cast iron to bronze and finally to gold, also signifies the artist’s increasing mastery of his chosen medium.

In the adjoining space, Kochanowski took the opportunity to showcase purely visual expressions with variations on the human figure. The artist delves into abstractions of the body, many from his own proportions; fortifies and memorializes his mentor in cast iron friendship; and analyzes gesture and space in formal planar studies. It is the style Kochanowski has used in his public artworks.

If you would like to know more about August Kocahanowski and his work, please find him at Instagram@augustkoachanowski. For more information about CDPL’s hours of operation, please visit our website at www.cdpl.lib.in.us. If you are an artist or a member of an artists’ group and are interested in displaying your work at the Mary Bishop Memorial Gallery in 2024, please contact Toni, the Gallery Coordinator at (765) 362-2242, or email her at [email protected] for more information.

-Toni Ridgway-Woodall is a Library Assistant in the Reference and Local History department and the Mary Bishop Memorial Gallery Coordinator at CDPL