Frank Piatek

Frank Piatek is an ARTIST TEACHER affiliated with the Drawing and Painting Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). His dual role as practitioner and educator emphasizes experimentation and intellectual inquiry. He has developed seminal courses including Materials and Techniques of Painting and The Spiritual in Art, often merging lecture and studio formats.

His research interests span materiality in artmaking, esoteric themes in contemporary practice, and intersections between art and spirituality. Notable collaborations include co-teaching Spiritus Mundi: Art and the Esoteric with Liberal Arts scholar Peter O'Leary. His pedagogical innovations emerged from early teaching crises that led to deep research into foundational artistic practices.

Piatek's creative work spans decades, with exhibitions at institutions like the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. His practice incorporates diverse media including painting, mixed media installations, and conceptual explorations rooted in mythological and religious frameworks. The Materials Lab at SAIC, now a collaborative space, originated from his 1976 initiative to revive technical painting education amid postmodern skepticism about the medium's viability.