Attempting Courage

Unlike the Convention Center's other collages, which are sampled from paper, Michael Olszewski's is crafted from delicate silk fabrics.  The artist carefully pleated the background material, anchoring each fold with perfectly balanced black stitches.  The appliquéd forms are also hand worked. 

Attempting Courage is a poignant meditation on the artist's struggle to except the death of his father, the loss of friends to AIDS, and his mother's battle with Alzheimer’s disease.  Olszewski‘s quiet geometric forms seem to float weightlessly above a diaphanous and shadowy ground.  The restrained black, blue, and copper tones of his dyed fabric resemble the somber palette of traditional American morning quilts.  Although motivated by his own personal tragedies Olszewski succeeded here in addressing a universal human experience.