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Richard Kozlow (May 5, 1926 – July 29, 2008) was an artist who lived in Detroit, Michigan. During his prolific career he painted well over a thousand works.

Born in Detroit in 1926, Richard Kozlow's formal training was limited to his abbreviated studies at Cass Technical High School and the College for Creative Studies. After his 1946 discharge from the World War II United States Navy, Kozlow spent two years painting and working in New York City. Although his work had achieved some success (and a favorable New York Times mention), he returned to Detroit to marry the love of his life and "get a job".

At this time (as throughout his career), his paintings used materials in new ways, delving into the textures of old walls and peeling posters. He won (among others) the Museum Purchase prizes of the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Butler Art Institute.

Mexico

Despite a successful Detroit advertising career, winning creative awards and large salaries, in 1960 he left it all to live and paint in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Here he applied the new techniques he'd developed to creating the first of the misty mountain paintings which earned his international reputation.

Thus began the pattern of the rest of Richard Kozlow's life. With stays in between in Detroit and many short journeys, he lived and painted in Mallorca in 1962; in England in 1965; in Costa Rica in 1975; in Portugal and Spain in 1977; and in others.

In the 1980s, he left his acrylics to achieve a new softness using oil paints. The allegorical "Soul of Mexico" paintings celebrated the spirit and the festivals of the Mexican people among whom he had lived so many times.

Kozlow had exhibitions in every region of the US and several foreign countries. Although his landscapes have always been much in demand by collectors, many of his most powerful works are black tempera depictions of bloody bullfights, Holocaust victims, and his enigmatic mid-90s "Masks" series.

Kozlow’s work occupies a position between classical landscape and modern representational styles. There is interest in Kozlow’s work among art scholars, specifically regarding paintings from the late nineties. These works include self-portraits concerning the influences on an artist's life.

References

  • Catalogue of work