“There’s a certain point that you reach where a painting stops giving back to you,” landscape artist Gilbert Gorski says. “I thought, why can’t a painting keep giving back to you even when you are inches away?”
Gorski’s unique exploration of space through texture and light is on full display in the artist’s upcoming show titled Gilbert Gorski: Aboreal Light and Magicat Principle Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia. Gorski brings more than 30 new paintings and a collection of drawings to the exhibition, which opens with a reception on Friday, November 13, from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Colla Parte, oil on linen, 36 x 36 in.
The artist has received formal training as a fine artist and as an architect, which he practiced for 30 years before trading man-made spaces for natural environments. “There are no vanishing points or construction you have to put together,” he says. “Everything is more intuitive that you create in these spaces, you feel they could go on forever.”
Gorski’s inspiration lies in the natural landscapes within a five-mile radius of his home in Pennsylvania. He became particularly interested in the structure of trees, and they have become a focal point in his work.
Acceso, oil on linen, 30 x 28 in.
“Every time I stand in front of a Gilbert Goski painting, I am transported into another world,” says Taylor Chauncey, assistant director at Principle Gallery. “It’s our world, but more intense, powerful and unrestrained. Gil’s paintings serve as a reminder to find and experience whimsy in everyday life and that we are never too old to dream.”
Gorski rarely includes any kind of man-made structure to allow the viewer full immersion into the woodland scenes, whether you are viewing the piece from close up or far away. One of the only pieces to include man-made structures is Colla Parte.Here, Gorski utilizes an architectural drawing technique called axonometric drawing, which displays multiple sides of an object without distorting perspective.
Gloriana, oil on linen, 12 x 60 in.
“I like the way it divides and flattens the scene,” Gorski says. “It’s a much more romantic, sweeter composition, which fits with when I painted it in springtime.”
Another departure comes in a piece titled When There Was Life on Mars. This nocturnal scene was inspired by images taken by the Mars rover, as Gorski imagines life elsewhere during a time of anxiety over the future of our planet.
While digital recreations can offer a glimpse of his style and process, Gorski says the full effect is best experienced in person. “Some have described my work as pointillism, but I would say I am more influenced by the idea of pixelation,” he says. “The way the raised brushstrokes catch the light in a gallery and keep flickering and glinting adds to the experience.”
When There Was Life on Mars, oil on linen, 36 x 38 in.
Goski often limits his palette to five or six colors. Inspired by Mark Rothko, he gravitates toward one primary color he can focus on deeply before moving on to another.
The show remains on view through November 30 and will also feature two books about drawing and painting trees, published by the artist. In an era that relies heavily on photography and digital art, Gorski hopes the show will remind viewers of the importance and value of a painting.
Fioritura, oil on linen, 24 x 28 in.
“This is an original, one-of-a-kind work of art,” he says. “Even looking at works of old masters, seeing the brush strokes and glazes makes you feel the immediacy of the artist’s hand. I am hoping collectors will still see that value in oil paintings today.” —
Principle Gallery 208 King Street • Alexandria, VA 22314 • (703) 739-9326 • www.principlegallery.com
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