Friday, June 18, 2010

Gaia Solo at the Irvine Contemporary

Our pal and fellow Abztract Collective member Gaia, is having a solo show that is worth checking out if you are in the Washington DC area. Info below:

Gaia: The Urban Romantic
June 19-July 24

Irvine Contemporary is pleased to present new works and on-site installations by gallery artist Gaia. In Urban Romantic, Gaia will present new compositions that combine decollage, linocut prints, and painting on wood panels, and new on-site street mural installations. Opening reception with the artist: Saturday, June 19, 6-8PM.

Gaia’s “Urban Romantic” concept is neither utopian nor nostalgic, but grounded in his practice of placing specific imagery in the context of city locations. Drawing on his new and evolving body of imagery depicting human and animal figures, Gaia's new work reflects on the ancient themes of animal and human sympathies, but now in the context of the city and the human built environment. Working with myth and symbolic animal figures, Gaia's street murals are like the works of an urban shaman drawing on a positive force from animal protectors.

Gaia constructs an image of a reversal of the "natural order" where animals intervene as protectors and avatars for a new awareness of the human condition in the natural world. He is known world-wide for street murals placed in decaying or neglected areas to elicit surprise and reflection by passers-by who encounter the symbolism and fragile narratives of his work.

About the Artist
Gaia grew up in New York City and is currently a student at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, concentrating on printmaking and sculpture. Combining a street-studio practice his studio work and gallery projects have been exhibited in Brooklyn, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. His street work has been documented and featured in several recent books on urban art, including, most recently, Beyond the Street: The 100 Leading Figures in Urban Art, (Berlin, 2010). Gaia lives and works in Baltimore, MD, and Brooklyn, NY.

Book Signing with Gaia:
Celebrating the publication of his work in Beyond the Street: The 100 Leading Figures in Urban Art (2010)
Saturday, June 19, 6-8PM

For further information and images, contact Lauren Gentile, Director, 202-332-8767 orlauren@irvinecontemporary.com.

IRVINE CONTEMPORARY
Martin Irvine, Proprietor & Director
Lauren Gentile, Director
Thomas W Powell, Gallery Manager
Matthew Shelby, Gallery Assistant
1412 14th St., NW, Washington, DC 20005
www.irvinecontemporary.com
Phone: (202) 332-8767