Dates: July 8th – July 19th 2021
Where: bG Gallery, Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave #A2, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Opening Reception: Saturday July 10th, 7-10 p.m.
bG Gallery presents a special limited-time exhibition from Los Angeles-based multidisciplinary artist Frank Paletta. Frank Paletta is a spinal cord injury survivor and ambulatory paraplegic. His works in oil contemplate the complexities of learning to live wholly within the limitations of his physical form while adapting to the ambiguous and often contradictory thoughts and emotions that come with working as a disabled artist in America.
Over the years, Frank has drawn deeply on the events of his personal life for inspiration, finding the sheer physicality of the painting process both therapeutic and essential to the development of his creative vision. His paintings explore personal identity, movement, energy, and the collective impulse to transform the darkest parts of the human experience into something palpable. He aims to gain a new studio to teach others to paint from the proceeds of this exhibition.
The impressive pieces of this study are that of large-scale works. Though Frank broke his arm while creating the first series of work for the show, he has soldiered on to continue to create art that inspires.
bG Gallery specializes in accomplished artists who have crossed traditionally contentious art ideologies, including expressive-conceptual, insider-outsider, high-low, and figurative-abstract. We aim to bring authentic art with elements of the human spirit back to the forefront of the contemporary art scene.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Over the last year, my work has revolved around the notion of radical self-acceptance as I have continued to find creative ways to break free from a body that I have always felt was a cage. These current works in oil contemplate the complexities of learning to live wholly within the limitations of my physical form while adapting to the ambiguous and often contradictory thoughts and emotions that come with working as a disabled artist in America. Over the years, I have drawn deeply on the events of my personal life for inspiration and have come to find the sheer physicality of the painting process both therapeutic and essential to the ongoing development of my creative vision. These paintings explore personal identity, movement, energy, and the collective impulse to transform the darkest parts of the human experience into something hopefully palpable.