TUJ Art 
Delusion of Peace, 2022
I would say, after someone sees my work they get a feel for who I am or perhaps what I feel when I create my work. A specific aesthetic style has prevailed over the mediums I work in, and although each have their own unique qualities, regardless of medium this aesthetic shines through. I hesitate to put an exact label on it however I would describe my work as having a lonely tone while also confronting the viewer and functioning through a rough unpolished approach. This roughness is what I hope resonates with a younger audience similar in age to me who are no longer complacent with the state of the art world being largely monetary based, I don’t want to create expensive looking art, instead emphasizing it’s handmade-ness or its realness. Pictured here are three works I made throughout my time in Temple University Japan’s undergrad art program which include three self portraits, one is a Cyanotype print, another is an accordion bound book and the last an ink painting. Despite being in different mediums there are similarities throughout all three works that can be seen through technique and execution but also subject matter. The most obvious of the three is that they are all self portraits which is common in my work, most of the time I depict myself through the vehicle of a character I’ve drawn since I was a kid named Smok seen in the blue ink painting. This allows me to address various parts of myself in a way that isn’t as immediately apparent and confronting because I can tell people it’s just a character I draw. In that painting there are imperfections in the lifework cause by the lipstick applicator that I was drawing with, the circles of the background also aren’t perfect, this is reflected in the tones of the dye I used for the paper as well. This roughness is mimicked in the blue cyanotype print in the application of the chemical on the paper which is imperfect and offset by the square frame of the screen I used when exposing the image juxtaposing outside chaos intruding into the neat inner frame. The book is less obviously connected but the chance treatment of the cover also resembles the aforementioned carelessness I have in creation, the innards of the book contain one long painting that was the result of pouring nail polish on paper on the floor of my apartment, more indifference in the final outcome to be seen there.
I’d Rather Be In Some Dark Hollow, 2022
Almost all the work I make that I deem good enough to actually show anybody is made when I’m piss drunk, usually to deal with the self confrontation necessary to make anything. So all making starts with drinking or smoking, altering my mind and softening the barriers I usually have to introspection. After this is achieved, music is the next key, usually far too loud for the middle of the night when most of my work was and is made. Aside from that I hoard various small materials to use later for projects whether it be scrap paper like what was utilized in the Smok portrait or the polaroid for the accordion book. I enjoy incorporating smaller pieces into a bigger one that is greater than the sum of it’s parts, the painting I used for the inside of the accordion book for example was made way earlier and it wasn’t until I got drunk procrastinating a book making assignment that I had the idea to cut it in strips for the book. This is sort of how I approach most of my photography as well, often drinking before I go out at night for photo walks however, a lot of my photography is done sober during the day which yields a different result and usually ends up feeling much more social and not as withdrawn or isolating featuring many more people and colors than my night photos. I feel liberated by removing the shackles of neatness and perfection in the aspects of making however there must still be consideration to foundational things like form and composition which are inseparable from any work worth a damn. For example, the placement of the cutout head on the smoke portrait is perfectly in the middle of the paper and was considered, the placement of the Polaroid on the cover of the book was measured and considered so that the cover then also reflects the structure of the photo on it, the exposure of the cyanotype and placement of the screen is also dead center of the paper. So while I talk about this messiness, roughness and freeness, it is imperative to also understand that it can’t exist in any meaningful way without the juxtaposition of orderly elements.
Myself When I Am Real, 2023
I find the question of why extremely hard to answer because I am conflicted about art in general which complicates my position when I attempt to make work. Up until now the why has been largely something I want to avoid if I have to, even if I know deep down, it remains difficult to confront it. This is in part to my why for most of the work I make, excluding design for the most part, feels sort of narcissistic or egotistical because while I’m trying to work through my own shit and deal with parts of myself I try to avoid it makes me ask another question. Why should anyone give a shit about my problems or how I work through them in this less than healthy way? The answer to this is that I guess I hope that someone else can also connect with the stuff I make, someone else can recognize the loneliness and sort of “darkness” (how incredibly cliche and cringey) and that my work will resonate with them in some sort of positive or at least neutral way.
Biography
Kyle Skowronski, a 23-year-old artist from Maryland, is now based in Tokyo, Japan. Initially focused on drawing and watercolor, he later discovered a passion for digital photography and graphic design. His monochromatic photos explore pandemic loneliness, while his graphic works blend vibrant photomontage and typography. Raised in an art-loving family, Skowronski studies in Tokyo, aiming to raise awareness of queer issues through his art.