Detail of a Kozikowski tapestry

David Kozikowski was born at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which makes him a true New Mexican native.  He has been working as a weaver since his parents taught him at four years old.  He remembers his first job for them, winding three balls of wool yarn for ten cents.  From his parents he learned to construct a painter’s palette in yarn, creating up to thirty-two gradations of each color, a technique that he utilizes today in his tapestries.  His influences are broad, ranging from painters such as Dali, Magritte and Francis Bacon, to Navajo and contemporary weavers.  He is also influenced by popular culture, including cartoon characters such as Wily Coyote.  Though often his works features nonrepresentational design, he does integrate figurative motifs into the designs on occasion, as well as into various landscapers.  What he especially likes to do is create a three-dimensional space on a flat surface to achieve a “’trompe-l’oille’ effect.  This type of image is seldom seen in historical or contemporary weaving.  After home fathering his two kids for the past six years, he is excited to be back at the loom.

“Though I often watched my parents struggle to make ends meet, the pull to make art is often greater than the pull to fame and fortune.  I have thrown my hand in with my fellow artists to try to create interesting, alarming works of art”