Artist Feature 9: Darek Pala

This week’s feature focuses on one of the first artists shown at NKG: Polish-born Darek Pala who currently resides in Miami, FL. Pala graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow in 1992 and became a well known exhibitor in Warsaw before moving to the U.S. in 1998. He still exhibits frequently there and has exhibited extensively in the United States and elsewhere in Europe. Pala’s paintings are marked by a thick impasto and bold colors that project both energy and mood.


[Author’s interpretation of Darek Pala’s Pamamour (Amant), 1999, oil on canvas, 42’’x42’’]

It is a sunny, Saturday morning on the Miami shoreline. A fair-skinned woman, wearing a flowery blouse, sits in front of her caffe con leche at the local breakfast café, smoking what appears to be a pipe. Sunlight radiates throughout the room, creating a sharp contrast of yellow against the light blue sky peeking out of the small window behind the woman. Globs of textured yellow paint are highlighted over a hidden under painting of orange, red, turquoise and indigo blue colors. To the left stands a contemporary accent vase, splashed in red, green, blue and white tones, with decorative stems sprawling out. As is typical in Pala’s paintings, this woman is depicted in profile. She raises her index finger, as if to request something. A tanned accordion player wearing a red coat and white bowtie stands cropped to the right, serenading her with lively [mariachi] music. Their eyes meet, and a connection is made. This seemingly private moment is brought to life by Pala’s use of yellow to bring out the intensity of the situation.

Darek Pala’s paintings vibrate with the energy of living. His figures, when facing each other, are engaged in constant dialogue. When we take a closer look, we discover the mixtures of their personalities. Pala is also a master of still-life objects such as flowers and fruit. On his canvases of flattened picture planes highlighted with sharp lines, these objects have the tendency to jump out at the viewer. Together, with the texture, they form a timeless and poetic, physical unity.

Like the geometric compositions of Joan Miró, Darek Pala has succeeded in exuding his love for shapes and vibrant colors. His mission statement in life is to trust his intuition and paint the world around him. Pala is not interested in painting only the happy scenes in life, but instead, to evoke feelings of love, fear, laughter, and delight through the eyes of a child.

Pablo Picasso once stated: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” In my opinion, Darek Pala has excelled in remaining a true artist into his adult years, constantly reminding us to never lose our childish innocence no matter where this journey of life takes us.


For more information...
Official Website: http://www.darekpala.com
NKG Artists Site: http://www.nevinkellygallery.com/artists/pala

Artist Feature 8: Krzystof Kokoryn

Welcome back! I hope your new years have gotten off to a brilliant start. This month, we are going “back to the basics” and I will be blogging about the art that helped launch NKG five years ago – Polish contemporary art.

Krzystof Kokoryn, Duet (2005) 31.5 x 39.5 oil on canvas

A few years ago, Polish artists such as Krzystof Kokoryn (b. 1964) were strangers to the DC art scene, but they quickly attracted attention. An image of Kokoryn’s large painting At the Swimming Pool, appeared on the front cover of DC North’s August 2003 edition, and several other Polish painters were featured in press articles about the gallery. Kokoryn’s intensely colorful paintings are sure to bring life into a dark and dreary day. Their warmth seems to be just the right thing to set your eyes on during these cold, short days of winter.

Kokoryn, a native of Warsaw, graduated from the city’s Academy of Fine Arts in 1992. Since then, he has had numerous solo exhibitions in Poland, the Netherlands and Slovakia. We featured his work in a two-artist exhibition at the Nevin Kelly Gallery called “Opposite Poles” in 2004 (which contrasted the contemporary style of Kokoryn against the classical style of Polish artist Michal Zaborowski). Like many great artists since the Renaissance, Kokoryn paints everyday scenes such as musicians playing a tune, lovers chatting in a cafe or friends gathering around the campfire. Kokoryn’s works reflect his bohemian lifestyle and remain authentic notwithstanding his international success. He’s the kind of guy you might like to call up to grab a few beers with at the local pub and simply chat the night away.

Krzysztof Kokoryn, Bar (2002)

The first thing that strikes me about Kokoryn’s paintings is his ability to successfully incorporate both linear and painterly qualities. Many times, his intuitive outlines of the main subject(s) help draw the spectator’s attention to the specific scene. By doing this, he renders his own vision of the events unfolding around those depicted in the painting. A sense of joie de vivre is expressed in every one of his works, from the man playing the trumpet to the nude sitting on her bed.

Comparable to the long, primitive figural styles of Pablo Picasso and Amedeo Modigliani, Kokoryn illustrates human activity, relationships and emotion to the greatest extent. His paintings are enticing and serve as a reminder for us to live our lives in the moment, truly embracing the joy to live and be alive.

Artist Feature 3: Michal Zaborowski

:: LAST CALL ::

Michal Zaborowski's H2O show closes this Sunday, November 11th! That means you still have time to come down and see it. We are open until 8pm both tomorrow and closing day, so please stop in and peruse if you haven't already done so (or, if you want to come again). This show was definitely a crowd-pleaser, on many levels. Thank you for your continued support.

:: CRIT WITH A TWIST ::

Since the Zaborowski show is drawing to a close, I thought it would be interesting to open the mic. up to our visitors and share what their various instinctive responses to the exhibition were. These responses were recorded during the course of this exhibition, and a diverse demographic of age and gender was attempted. As suspected, some constructive criticism was given despite the popularity of Zaborowski's works, but all in all, people felt that he is an amazing figure painter and definitely a post-modern Impressionist! Let's see what our fellow Washingtonians had to say:


[ N O T E :: responses were paraphrased for this blog entry]

"Seeing representative painting in this gallery is SO refreshing. The last few years, all NKG had were abstract artists - which I love - but not as much as the old stuff. It reminds me that there is good contemporary art out there."
Female, Local Neighbor, 60s

"I identify with the girl wearing the turquoise earring. She casually dries herself after a bath, with no shame of her nudity at all. It's better than Pierre Bonnard's figures that are so confusing and the colors kind of get lost when mixed together. At least this one is well-defined. I think this is a good reminder for us Americans who are too paranoid about our physical imperfections to even consider such a thing. Women of all shapes and sizes are gorgeous, and this painting echoes that very well."
Female, Washington DC resident, 40s

"These women are so well-dressed, even the woman delivering the water. What is it about our modern American culture that makes people dress so sloppy? There is definitely a European quality in these works - that you never find in America. It's absolutely delightful."
Male, Local Neighbor, 70s

"This show is not so good; actually, its quite boring. I mean, Zaborowski is a great painter, but I think these paintings are too academic. They remind me of the figures we had to copy during those gruesome years in art school. These paintings look like figures painted to perfection. I would like to see him go outside of his comfort zone and do something more abstract. His strongest painting, however, is Fishermen."
Bulgarian Artist, Female, Washington DC resident, 30s

"I can't stand the lack of a good and defined background in these works. It's like they are purposely mushed all together. He needs to make it more 3-dimensional. I preferred the work/background Zaborowski had in his 'Before and After the Dinner Party' exhibition."
Couple, Washington DC residents, 50s

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Please feel free to add your own responses to these various comments given by our fellow visitors. Join me next week for proper Artist Feature on one of NKG's favorite artists. Buon weekend!