Jolynn Kyrstosek

Jolynn Krystosek was born in California and earned her BA from San Francisco State University and her MFA from Hunter College in New York. She now lives and works in New York City.

Her work with wax floral relief carvings and large-scale, site-specific paper cut-outs denote a reverence for traditional craftsmanship and make reference to Dutch still life painting, botanicals, and Victorian cameos. Both media demonstrate Krystosek’s mastery of materials and her ability to evoke beauty and delicacy from her compositions. Simultaneously, due to the vulnerability of the media and temporal nature of the subject matter, the images that are produced also hint at impending decay and the fragility of life.

Krystosek’s series of drawings of exotic fowl capture male birds—roosters, pheasants, and pigeons—in their mating prime and displaying a variety of decorative embellishments used to demonstrate sexual prowess. By choosing to depict fowl types that draw attention to themselves through seductive or exaggerated bodily adornment and by accentuating these features, Krystosek plays with the historical tradition of associating masculine sexuality with aspects of the natural world.

Kyrstosek has exhibited at the Philadelphia Art Alliance in Philadelphia, PA, Lucas Schoormans Gallery, the Horticultural Society of New York, Broadway Gallery, 3rd Ward, and Hunter Times Square Gallery, all in New York City.