Show Openings: Natalia – “Fabia Punk Rock Rainbow Sparkle” & “Hybrid Thinking” (Curated by Wooster Collective @ Jonathan Levine Gallery

Natalia Fabia - "Palace Amusement Jump" Oil on Panel.

Jonathan Levine Gallery opened its first show of 2012 with a joint effort from L.A. based painter Natalia Fabia and her new collection of works entitled “Punk Rock Rainbow Sparkle” and The Wooster Collective curated “Hybrid Theory”. This was the NYC debut from Fabia who is known for her colorful photorealistic paintings of equally colorful woman who often act as her provocative subjects. The new paintings based on East Coast culture and style that Fabia experienced first hand during a three-month stay give the artists signature work a new twist.

In the artist’s words: “Punk rock is one of my true loves. Punk to me is an attitude, a lifestyle. Punk is a middle finger, punk is do-it-yourself, do what you want. It’s a kind of freedom. I’m attracted to my subjects for having that quality. This attitude is what I wanted to convey in this series. My models (many of which are friends) are all tough, independent, strong, fun, hard working, talented, tattooed and stylishly dressed. I look at punk rock as being dirty and rough, yet sparkly and enticing at the same time, and that’s the theme of my paintings.” 

Wooster Collective’s Sara and Marc Schiller take up the second half of the gallery with their curated group exhibition entitled “Hybrid Thinking”.  The show brings together six preeminent emerging artists from around the world including Dal, from Beijing, China (now based in Cape Town, South Africa); Herakut, a duo based in Frankfurt, Germany who we have featured in the past; Hyuro, from Buenos Aires, Argentina, currently based in Valencia, Spain; Roa, based in Belgium; Sit, from the Netherlands; and Vinz, born and based in Valencia, Spain.

With a wide array of discipline, medium, style and cultural influence, work by the six artists in this exhibition is thematically cohesive in its related subject matter—through figurative pairings of human and animal elements, the artists explore concepts of instinct, identity and metamorphoses.

In the curators’ words: “Hybrid Thinking refers to the current zeitgeist of our time: disparate cultures coming together to create something completely new. Though from distinctly different cultural backgrounds, these artists share an understanding of our cities, of the human condition and our complex relationship with nature.”

If you are in NY be sure to make it to the gallery to check out the shows first hand which will be running till February 11, 2012.

Natalia Fabia/Hybrid Thinking @ Jonathan Levine Gallery - January 14, 2012 - slide show