There is something extra that draws the eye to a Jan Kasprzycki painting.  Perhaps it is the emotion that seems to leap from the canvas, perhaps the feast of colors Jan creates in delicious impastos.  His works appear to possess a vitality of their own...something remarkably special, something extra.

Like the fabled French Impressionists, Kasprzycki (pronounced kas-pris'-key) is fascinated by the wonders of light.  He evokes their mystic spell in scenes of radiant flowers, in cityscapes that pulse with electric zeal, in portraits that probe beneath the surface of the paint.  His works are composed of passion; passion is what they convey.

Born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and raised in Southern California, Kasprzycki moved to Maui in 1976.  At home with his wife Kathy in the island's upcountry grandeur, surrounded by eucalyptus and protea, he is able to immerse himself in the clarity of vision and purpose that such a powerful environment provides.  Each stroke of his brush becomes an emotional act.  Textures curl and wave in wild profusion as he creates them.  The compositions that emerge are both abstract (in detail) and representational (in subject matter).  The magic that so deftly unifies these disparate forces - the abstract and the representational - is color.  Kasprzycki puts it simply:  "I'm a colorist.  It is color that takes my hand and tells it what to do."

Kasprzycki's extensive travel in the Orient introduced him to the artform of the painted screen.  This centuries-old motif inspired Jan to collaborate with his brother Paul, a gifted woodworker, in a series of screens, with Jan creating the painted images and Paul designing the koa hardwood frames.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Jan has also embarked on other projects as bold as the colors he puts on canvas.  In addition to the Oriental-style screens, Jan created a major collection of originals entitled NightScapes™, portraying Jan's view of the world's great cities on the eve of the new millenium.  He has also created brilliant signature fabric designs for the domestics market, limited edition collectable, porcelain charger plates and heirloom-quality, hand tufted wool and silk rugs utilizing distinctive Kasprzycki designs.  Jan is an artist who cannot, will not, be compartmentalized.

"I think it's an artist's job to touch on those realms of the world which others cannot see, and then show it to them.  The realms which speak most symphonically to me are color and movement.  And those are the ones I attempt to transfer to my canvases."