Irvine Contemporary is pleased to present new works and on-site installations by gallery artist Gaia. In The Urban Romantic, Gaia will present new compositions that combine decollage, linocut prints, and painting on wood panels and new on-site street mural installations. Open June 19 – July 24.
Drawing on his new and evolving body of imagery depicting human and animal figures, Gaia’s 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 employs recognizable animal figures to remind us of lost human connections to nature and the environment. He 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 areas to elicit surprise and reflection by passers-by who encounter the symbolism and fragile narratives of his work.
About the Artist
Gaia is currently a student at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, concentrating on printmaking and sculpture. His studio work and gallery projects have been exhibited in Brooklyn, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. His 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, Patrick Nguyen and Stuart Mackenzie, eds. (Berlin: Die Gestalten Verlag, 2010). Gaia lives and works in Baltimore, MD, and Brooklyn, NY.
Image: Gaia, Emissary, 2010. Screen print, paint, and collage on wood panel.
Irvine Contemporary
1412 14th St., NW
Washington, DC 20005
202-332-8767
irvinecontemporary.com
