Joey Wozniak

By Jeff

When I first met Joey Wozniak I was working as the bartender at Hinkey Dink Kenna’s, the bar in the basement of Marshall Fields, and he was working in the furniture department. Joey and several other salesmen would come for lunch every day. I needed furniture so it was a good relationship from the start. The only thing missing from my apartment was artwork. I had fallen out of love with traditional oil paintings. The reason for this was the starving artist sales usually held at the Holiday Inns. These paintings are normally painted in a factory setting with airbrushes. One artist does the sky, the next one does the trees etc… I’ve always liked modern art and my taste became more sophisticated after moving to Chicago.
An architect friend of mine called me. It seemed that Joey had gotten tired of the art world so he was selling off his old inventory. “You would like Joey's art it's very architectural" I was told. When I got to Joey's house there were about ten furniture salesmen fighting over Joey's work. I bought one of the few paintings left, a 48"x36" cityscape of a bolt of lightning striking a penthouse and reflecting off the surrounding buildings. Mostly done in dark blue with bright yellow it was very dramatic. I knew this was a bargain when I took it to the framer and he offered to purchase it from me. It fit perfectly above my buffet and commanded the space like a WPA mural. Ironically I would move to Junior Terrace the scene of this lightning storm. I wanted to buy another painting from him but he had sold out. Luckily this prompted him to resume painting.

About a year later I was at one of Tony Izzo’s gallery opening and I was able to trade for another painting. A cubist styled one depicting a man running away from a shadow. It was mostly yellow with blue shadows and the figure pained orange. I also bought two smaller paintings that night both seascapes in blue and yellow. The last painting of his that I collected was a gift, a small abstract.

Over the years I have seen his work become more refined and developed. He has become more popular with each passing year. The best part about his work is that it stays interesting. Every time I look at one of his paintings I see something new. We've also become great friends. I go to most of his openings and through him have met other prominent Chicago artists. His work can be seen at http://www.joeywozniak.com/.