“Mysterious and Real”, a collection of works by: Lauren Curtis, George Baylov, Galina Torodova, Iliyan Ivanov, and Robert Aitchison. Each of these artists distinctively examines mysticism and abstraction within the natural world, encouraging the viewer to explore his or her own sense of perception.
About “Mysterious & Real” by Michiko Mull, Curator
In this exhibition, Ilyan Ivanov and Robert Aitchison work collaboratively, exchanging and reinterpreting each other’s visions as they create new paintings that are as much about process as they are about conversation. As each artist revisits “finished” paintings, Aitchison’s examination of nature’s ephemeral architecture is synthesized with Ivanov’s interest in nontraditional mediums and surfaces. Ivanov’s background in music, science, and philosophy is further explored in his solo works, where he continues to experiment with mixed media and memory.
Working in a similar abstract fashion, George Baylov’s fragmented yet cohesive brushstrokes fill the canvas with bold, lively forms. His allover compositions contain geometric blocks of color that are juxtaposed with soft, whimsical strokes, suggesting the liveliness of a bustling city from an aerial point of view. Exhibiting frequently since 1993, Baylov lives and works in Vetren, Bulgaria.
Galina Todorova expresses her art as “a conversation with the Superior”, an intense and internal communicative process that is applied to the canvas with intimate symbols and contemplative care. Inspired by medieval Bulgarian icons, expressionism, and minimalism, Todorova uses soft hues of primary colors to depict the collective struggle for consciousness as a division of egos.
Likewise, Lauren Curtis’s work addresses the synthesis of the self as she seeks to inspire a dialogue based on spirituality and mortality within nature. Utilizing self-developed archetypes, Curtis’s stark mourners are placed within vast, simple landscapes that evoke a sense of journey and pursuit.
