Preview: LOLA GIL – Thirsty @ Roq La Rue Gallery [Seattle]

As a Seattlite, it’s great to have the Roq La Rue gallery back from the dead and doing shows again.  I mean, it’s nice to know that it’s there, at least… even if the reality of the matter is that I very rarely have the chance to get out of the house, these days.  Gallery owner, Kirsten Anderson, originally opened the venue back in 1998, gaining international attention for her work promoting underground contemporary and pop surrealism work, but shut everything down in 2016 to pursue her passion of wildlife conservation.  Last October, she felt like it was time to resurrect her baby Pet Sematary-style, in a brand new location downtown.  In its return, it never missed a beat, with Roq La Rue feeling as if it never left in the first place.  Several of the usual suspects who used to exhibit with Anderson have been appearing back on the walls just like before, but what’s really encouraging to see is that space is being provided for new blood.  One such artist is Lola Gil, a Los Angeles-based painter whom the gallery will host a brand new solo exhibit for, opening this weekend.

The following details come via the press release:

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“Based on a style she calls “Narrative Escapism”, Gil’s works exhibit a soft tension, with soft, creamy painting style contrasting with often tension filled narratives. For this show, “Thirsty”, Gil not only explores the title themes definition with narratives of drought and climate change, but also the more ambiguous slang term meaning an insatiable lust for life and creation.
This show exhibits a formidable jump in style in both technical prowess as well as a tightened narrative running throughout out her work, and we are absolutely thrilled to exhibit this exciting and provocative show.”

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What I appreciate about Gil’s work is how it, at once, presents a very cohesive trademark style, yet is comprised of an amalgamation of several different techniques and approaches.  There are elements of incredible hyper-realism, blended with the remarkably surreal.  Though it may read as a conflict on paper, the two opposing concepts never seem to clash; the eye-catching photo-realism of such elements as reflecting glass, water, an intricately knit sweater, or a porcelain dog actually strengthen the more painterly and abstract components in a manner that provides these works with a collage-like effect.  Dimension, depth, texture, space, focus, and perspective are all employed in a manner that amplifies one another to create some truly mesmerizing images that draw urgent emotional responses from the viewer first and foremost over intellectual analysis.  After all, that’s what art is intended to do.

Thirsty, which will run for a month at Roq La Rue, opens this Friday, March 8th.  It’s all ages, so bring the whole fam.

Check out preview images for the exhibit below the following event details…

WHAT:

‘Thirsty’
new works by Lola Gil

WHEN:

Opening:
Friday, March 8, 2019
6pm-9pm

WHERE:

Roq La Rue Gallery
705 E Pike St (near Boylston)
Seattle WA 98122 

ADDITIONAL INFO:

Opening is ALL AGES w/NO COVER
Artist will be in attendance
Show on view until Sunday, April 7, 2019
Gallery hours: 12pm – 6 pm Wednesday – Sunday
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/586492441819239/