KENT—Carol Corey Fine Art, 6 North Main Street, will launch its inaugural exhibition of work by Nathaniel Aric Galka, Saturday, May 4, with an artist’s reception from 5 to 7 p.m. The show will consist of new paintings and works on paper and continues through June 9.
Galka’s paintings depict fantastical worlds filled with stylized flora and fauna, deft renderings executed with jewel-like surfaces that, on closer examination reveal a darker side to the Edenic imagery.
“My paintings imply how the human hand is creating a false ecosystem and destroying our planet, starting in our own backyards,” states the artist. “We are taking away what is indigenous and replacing it with ‘ornamental’ plantings. We are destroying the natural order of our own landscape. I am creating ‘post-human gardens,’ works about how nature will reclaim its balance once we are no longer here manipulating our planet.”
The paintings are filled with historical art and cultural references. One sees Asian influences such as screen painting and woodblock prints from Korea and China, along with the introspective minimalist works of Buddhist art. Also evident is his love for historical Shintoism floral paintings of 17th-century Japan and the cultural aesthetic of ikebana (Japanese flower arranging). There are also allusions to western European art including the still life paintings of the Netherlands and 19th century Romanticism.
Galka’s works are constructed using Old Masters techniques. Marble plaster gesso is applied to linen wrapped panels. He then paints in oil (sometimes enamel). Shellac India ink is applied with a dipped pen to create calligraphic references to woodblock prints. The final painting is then varnished with two coats of Damar varnish and three coats of hand-polished bleached wax to finish the surface.
Galka has shown with the Kai Lin Gallery in Atlanta and Leila Heller Gallery in New York, among others. His work is held in many public and private collections.
For further information contact the gallery at 917-797-9654, or carol@coreyfineart.com.
