Paul Kirley fuels visual experiences connecting art, people and places at Artspace Warehouse

May 2, 2012 - PRLog -- Kirley was born in Massachusetts to a family of designers and artists whose connection to architecture and landscape greatly influenced him at an early age.  He discovered photography and 1950’s abstract expressionist painting in his teens.  In the fall of 1987 Paul moved to California to attend the Art Center College of Design.  During this period he began to develop a collage style of work that merged his love of photography with a passion for painting.  

Blending paint and photographic compositions together on a single picture plane, Paul seeks an integration of the two media types to create motion filled dreamscapes.  Each piece transports the viewer to a dynamic textural environment.  The physicality of paint conveys human emotions that contrast the clarity and formality of photographic elements.  

Kirley reveals about his artworks “I create visual experiences that connect people to place as though they were dreaming.  As we dream, we recall imagery in series.  We visit the past and we aspire to participate in the events of our future.  We create worlds rooted in personal context and deeply connected to our emotions.  Some of our dream experiences are so believable and powerful that they call us to action in our everyday lives.  The challenge of representing the dream landscape has led me to explore the human dream experience as a series of combined elements.  Lucid elements are the centerpieces of context and meaning in dreamscapes.  Surrounding these clear focal points we find an ephemeral blur or haze where images abstract and fade, connect and transition.  Story scenarios play out in repeated sequences, often changing or prompting us to revise them.”  

Kirley’s process begins as a series of digital photographic events.  Iconic images and stories are identified and catalogued.  Selections are then composed and combined with found objects yielding a narrative assemblage.  The final step in the process includes expressing connections between the representational landscapes and ephemeral dreamscape experiences.  Links between the two worlds are created as a series of traditionally painted layers and gestures.  Contrasting the clarity and formality of the photographic elements and three dimensional objects, brush strokes and washes complete the dreamscapes adding transitional dream fragments and a sense of motion. According to Kirley “The creative process of each piece presents me with opportunities to live fully immersed in the stories and places of our dreams.”

Kirley’s works at Artspace Warehouse include SF in Motion, an artwork that connects the viewer to San Francisco which celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge on May 27.

Artspace Warehouse, one of the world's leading galleries for savvy contemporary art collectors, combines emerging American and European artists in this new exhibition, focusing on silhouettes in various media.
With galleries in Cologne, Zurich and Los Angeles; Artspace Warehouse specializes in guilt-free international, urban, pop, graffiti, photo and abstract art.  The price range typically varies from $200 to $2,000 and includes a special collector‘s section offering exclusive paintings by established international contemporary artists.  The selection of artworks changes every week.
Artspace Warehouse | 7354 Beverly Boulevard | Los Angeles, CA  90036 | 323-936-7020 | info@artspacewarehouse.com | www.artspacewarehouse.com