Natalia Fabia NYC 1/14/12

Natalia Fabia
Punk Rock Rainbow Sparkle
Solo Exhibition

January 14—February 11, 2012
Opening Reception:
Saturday, January 14, 7—9pm

NEW YORK, NY (December 19, 2011) — Jonathan LeVine Gallery is pleased to present Punk Rock Rainbow Sparkle, a new series of works by Los Angeles-based artist Natalia Fabia, in what will be her highly anticipated debut solo exhibition in New York.

For her first solo show on the East Coast, Fabia chose to use the location as creative direction for her paintings and spent three months exploring the region, doing research, gathering visual materials and staging photo shoots to serve as reference imagery for her new body of work. Particularly inspired by people and places with a raw, punk sensibility, she spent time in New York City (Manhattan and Brooklyn), Philadelphia, and Asbury Park in New Jersey.

In the artist’s words: “Punk rock is one of my true loves. Punk to me is an attitude, a lifestyle. Punk is a middle finger, punk is do-it-yourself, do what you want. It’s a kind of freedom. I’m attracted to my subjects for having that quality. This attitude is what I wanted to convey in this series. My models (many of which are friends) are all tough, independent, strong, fun, hard working, talented, tattooed and stylishly dressed. I look at punk rock as being dirty and rough, yet sparkly and enticing at the same time, and that’s the theme of my paintings.”

A skilled young oil painter, Fabia selects luminous subjects with an intriguing dichotomy—adult yet innocent, strong yet vulnerable. To view her work is a voyeuristic endeavor. Lingerie-wearing vixens lounge in intimate rooms with all the comforts of home, or gather in groups for after-hour parties at dimly-lit bars. Fabia’s playfully erotic female figures are adorned with alluring details—glimmering jewelry and intricate tattoos. These confident, empowered beauties evoke burlesque and pin-up traditions. A seductive mixture of glitter and grit, they pose provocatively in the artist’s carefully arranged compositions.

Lush settings include environmental textures, elements of graffiti, iconic landmarks and other geographically specific architecture. Infused with Fabia’s signature style, vividly saturated candy color palette and dazzling spectrum of light, scenes in these paintings—like most of her work—are a combination of fantasy narratives and actual moments captured from the artist’s vibrant life, her passion for ornate fashion, nightlife and glamour with a punk rock edge.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Natalia Fabia is of Polish descent, born in 1983 in Burbank, California, and currently based in Los Angeles. In 2007, she graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Inspired by light, color, punk rock music, hot chicks and sparkles, her work has been featured in numerous gallery exhibitions and publications.