Nathalie Gribinski

 

Blue Heart, 36 x 36 , acrylic on canvas

Kinda loud and in your face.

And  especially awkward and wacky

  because it’s figurative.  

Balance - subtlety - mystery - sensitivity 

Not so much.

It seems to say 

"Ok - my heart is blue,

.. what of it ?"

Woman Standing, 34 x 11

Collaboration with Zaach Weber

Oil marker on ceramic, paper mache

Theatre of Dreams, oil marker on canvas, 72 x 48

The sculpture - and painting behind it

announce that it’s playtime.

Ever been to FLW’s Coonley  Playhouse in Riverside?

Both pieces are both fun and elegant enough to belong there.

Working the Line, 36 x 36, acrylic on canvas

State of Mind, 36 x 36, acrylic on canvas 

Mental  noise is that default condition,

in paintings as well as life, when nothing is being sought

beyond a resounding expression of "here I am, folks!"

It’s specific to each person as well as the world in which they live.

If the pieces don’t feel American, that’s because the artist grew up in France, and I appreciate the absence of the popular culture that echoes through so many American minds.

Bowling in Outer Space, oil markers and acrylic on canvas, 8x8x3

As beautiful and soothing as small tropical fish tanks.

A welcome respite from the rest of the show.

 

Two of Chicago's first non-objective painters , Ramon Shiva and Rudolph Weisenborn, were Palette and Chisel members a hundred years ago - but regretfully there haven’t been many ever since.  

It’s refreshing to have work on our walls that is totally free from the demands of illustration.