Save the Date: “Rainbeau Samsura” by Natalia Fabia, plus Alessandra Maria and Lauren Marx, and Elizabeth McGrath, at Corey Helford Gallery on Saturday November 5th!
Join us on Saturday November 5th from 7pm – 11pm, , for the opening reception of figurative painter, Natalia Fabia’s first solo show in four years, “Rainbeau Samsara,” happening at Corey Helford Gallery in Boyle Heights., directly across the bridge from the DTLA Arts District.
Natalia Fabia has been painting the female form in environments for years. After the birth of her daughter, Peribeau, and the sudden loss of her brother, her painting exploration has progressed.
More about Natalia Fabia: Fabia was drawn to the absolute truth of what remains of the physical body after one transitions; a tangible ash of our carbon frame, our stardust. It is this stardust that links us to the planets and cosmos, to the sand and dirt of the earth, and to each other. While so much of our existence and human experience is a mystery, Fabia found comfort through meditation, and in the knowingness she felt holding and even painting with human stardust, a tangible truth.
More about the work: In viewing this body of work, you will wander through each cycle of the human experience from stardust conception, to transitioning and dropping the body. When you first come into existence you are plopped into your place in the world, given your glass shell and spirit family. From here you pass through sequential cycles of life, known in Sanskrit as Samsara. Each stage defined by naturally occurring rhythms and routines felt in yourself, as well as in the universe.
As we cycle through this physical life, we have portals into the divine. A place of purity, innocence, connection to spirit, and oneness that is always with us. We can find this place of beauty and magic in the backdrop of nature, in the sacred geometry of our stars, and in the prisms of rainbows. We can access this at any time. Fabia seeks to depict this in her paintings through her sparkles, paint splatters, painterly brushstrokes, and splashes of colors and rainbows juxtaposed with figures and landscapes, giving the viewer a feeling of timelessness and wonder.
Watching how her paintings develop, you realize that she is exploring and learning as she goes. Observing her brilliancy, one would think that she had a clear picture of the end result, but she doesn’t start out with all the answers. Her paintings give back to her as they transform and change, giving her insight into the magical nature of our world.
Fabia uses traditional oil painting techniques and also rebels against tradition with her use of sparkles, glitter and expressive color. Her Rainbeau to the physicality of the soul.
“Rainbeau Samsara” is part one of an ongoing series from Fabia and will be on view through December 10th.
COREY HELFORD GALLERY
571 S. Anderson St. (Enter on Willow St)
Los Angeles, CA 90033
Tel. 310.287.2340
Open Tuesday-Saturday, 12 Noon to 6pm
Also in Gallery Two:
In the process of creating her own world, Alessandra Maria and Lauren Marx each share in their use of powerful and traditional iconography to tell a story. Whether in Maria’s iconic, Renaissance-inspired works, or in the natural elements of Marx’s illustrations, they are reworking icons in a manner that is entirely their own. “Animals have always been an essential part of storytelling, symbolism, and spirituality. I am continuing this tradition by producing works centered around fauna to tell stories that relate to creation, mortality, the violence of nature, and my personal life,” shares Lauren Marx of her new body of work, “Flesh Blood Bone”. Based in St. Louis, Missouri, Marx creates beautiful vignettes that speak to the cycle of life. Combining pen and ink with various mixed media, her paintings offer a raw depiction of birth and death. Influenced by scientific illustrations and the Baroque period, Marx presents these cyclical phenomena in visually appealing ways, often fusing the chaotic elements of nature into stylized compositions with an emphasis on design.
“Flesh Blood Bone is my first attempt to acknowledge, and accept, aspects of my personal history that have caused me anxiety and heartache. As in my previous work, all subjects are depicted as animals. The series of narrative works centers around my immediate family, and the interactions and emotions that occur between the four members. Recently, I felt that I could finally address these feelings on paper. I have illustrated my separation from the issues presented here, by depicting them as otherworldly, divine animals that exist in a habitat removed from reality. The four family members, which includes myself, become abstracted versions of themselves. I plan on continuing to center my work around aspects of my life and past. I am seeking freedom from my anxiety through my artwork.”
Alessandra Maria, based in Brooklyn, New York has harnessed the dynamism of religious symbols to craft her new series, “The Virgin, The Whore, and the Mother”. “Iconography can tell a story- it’s subtle power shapes us,” she says. Though her art is contemporary, there is a deliberate attempt to make each piece feel like an “artifact” or a sacred object. Her glimmering muses are a modern feminist idol, Maria’s definition of feminine divinity in the face of objectification and dehumanization. “Throughout history icons have served to illustrate the predominant ideals of a given social group. In Abrahamic religions, feminine power has been embodied in three forms with few exceptions: the virgin, the whore, and the mother. Put another way: women’s most virtuous roles were defined insofar as their being an object or vessel for someone else.”
“I’m driven by the prevalence of these outmoded concepts of feminine potential in contemporary society. The narratives of women in popular culture are still crafted around demonizing and dehumanizing ideas of what women can or should be. I believe an important means of addressing this problem entails going back to the source Numbered as a means of guiding the viewer’s journey, this body of work is an exploration of Eden without the traditional trichotomy and tells t
In Gallery Three:
Liz Mcgrath
McGrath will be transforming Gallery 3 into her own wonderland of dark whimsy with her delightfully odd creatures variously adorned with jeweled eyes, crystal blood drops and gold trim. Some have miniature diorama windows in which you will find tiny dreamlands filled with cupcakes, the Grim Reaper, Unicorns and more. The “Star” of the show is her three headed deer covered in thousands of Swarovski Crystals.
Artist Bio
Los Angeles-born self taught artist Elizabeth McGrath has always had an eye for the strange beauty in the grotesqueries of life; this appreciation is nowhere more evident than in her work. Inspired by the relationship between the natural world and the detritus of consumer culture, she brings forth a new cavalcade of creatures from the darker corners of the streets, the city, the imagination. It is this melancholy interaction between man-made status symbols and suffering specimens of nature that make up her intricate body of work.