Cover: Gabriel Stoian, Sub Saharan desert bar, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 cm, 2022
THE LONELINESS OF THE CALIFORNIAN DESERT TURTLE
Flicking through a recent issue of the Economist one day, I came across this article about the Californian desert tortoise, which lives in a very hostile environment. For this reason, and a few others related to human intervention, this animal lives in an intolerable wilderness, but in a normal life cycle can easily outlive us all. As I read this, my mind wandered from the turtle and I began to think about my own loneliness. By the time I read the whole text, I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I can't even remember the author's name. (My apologies, dear author!) I was on the verge of my own loneliness; it felt dense and heavy like a fog that isolated me from everyone and everything else; a scary and sublime feeling that inspired me to create the work for this exhibition. Even when I am in a vulnerable state, I am in solitude and can think and see clearly. That being said, I am not an introvert; it is not that I am a sad and lonely person, it has more to do with contemplation. As a painter, I find solitude empowering and creative. The works in this exhibition emphasise the dual state of loneliness and they are a utopian act of devotion to the Californian desert tortoise.
Gabriel Stoian 2022
Opening: 28 June 2022, 5:00 - 8:00 pm
The artist is present!
ART SHOWROOM 05
1050 Vienna, Laurenzgasse 1
Finissage: 8 July 2022, 15:00 -18:00
Duration: 28 June - 8 July 2022
Opening hours: Tue - Fri 15:00 - 18:00
Gabriel Stoian graduated from the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca (Transylvania, Romania) in 2014 with a PhD in visual arts. His artistic practice consists of a democratic approach to all known visual media. However, it is easy to see that painting is at the centre of his creative process. The works are often explained by the artist as confessions, intimate and poetic, in which immediate experiences are presented as direct genres.
Exhibition operated by Galerie Rudolf Leeb in cooperation with NEW NOW art space Frankfurt.
We would like to thank Barabas Dental for the use of their premises.
Gabriel Stoian, open sea, oil on canvas, 30 x 40 cm, 2020
Gabriel Stoian, Sub Sharan desert bar, oil on canvas, 30 x 40 cm, 2022
Gabriel Stoian, Mr. Lamb, oil on canvas, 50 x 50 cm, 2022
Gabriel Stoian, The loneliness of the Californian turtle, oil on canvas, 30 x 40 cm, 2022
Gabriel Stoian, mummy and daddy all over the kitchen floor, oil on canvas, 40 x 50 cm, 2021