Len Biszkont

I was born in Walsrode, Germany. My early interests were in art and music and eventually led to studies in classical guitar with Oswald Rantucci at the University at Buffalo. There I earned an undergraduate degree in music performance and a Master’s degree in music history. I enjoyed a nearly thirty year career as a founding member of the Buffalo Guitar Quartet. Over that period the Quartet toured the U.S., Europe and South America, and produced several recordings.

I retired from performing in 1998 to pursue my continuing interest in the visual arts. I am self-taught as an artist and work primarily in the painting and drawing media.

My primary interest as an artist is not in the literal representation of the world, but rather in the continued attempt to achieve what I would call a “dream state,” a state of balance, between the spontaneity and innocence of childhood and the experiential knowledge and perceived wisdom of the adult. This form of non-literal yet essentially figurative imaging brings me closest to discovering this balance in my work.