Matthew Grabelsky is a Los Angeles-born and New York-raised American artist: his work focuses on combining the physical world that he sees around him every day with imagery from mythology and dreams.
His paintings are not intended to be viewed as fantasy or as allegory but rather as a blend of every-day experiences with the subconscious. They are enigmatic, and create dream-like worlds that invite viewers to form their own interpretations of the imagery presented.
He graduated from Rice University in 2002 with a BA in Art and Art History and a BS in Astrophysics. Afterwards, he moved to Florence, Italy, where he spent four years studying the techniques of classical drawing and painting, followed by a two and a half year sojourn in Paris, France, painting independently and learning directly from the work of the great French Masters.
According to Matthew Grabelsky, “Astrophysics, taught me how to observe the world, and art has allowed me to express my relationship to it.”
He paints in a highly realistic manner derived from his studies of 19th-century French Academic painters, and he uses this visual language to craft modern narratives. He places his subjects in urban settings: trains, gritty alleyways, and cosmopolitan cityscapes; then introduces a twist to create a mix of rational and irrational elements. His work is often humorous, and it straddles the divide between the serious and the bizarre.
Images courtesy of Matthew Grabelsky
Dsicover: grabelsky.com
