LOS ANGELES, CA.- Corey Helford Gallery presents “Rainbeau Samsara," the newest body of work from Los Angeles-based figurative painter Natalia Fabia and her first solo show in four years.
Natalia Fabia has been painting the female form in environments for years. After the birth of her daughter, Peribeau, and the sudden loss of her brother, her painting exploration has progressed.
Fabia was drawn to the absolute truth of what remains of the physical body after one transitions; a tangible ash of our carbon frame, our stardust. It is this stardust that links us to the planets and cosmos, to the sand and dirt of the earth, and to each other. While so much of our existence and human experience is a mystery, Fabia found comfort through meditation, and in the knowingness she felt holding and even painting with human stardust, a tangible truth.
In viewing this body of work, you will wander through each cycle of the human experience from stardust conception, to transitioning and dropping the body. When you first come into existence you are plopped into your place in the world, given your glass shell and spirit family. From here you pass through sequential cycles of life, known in Sanskrit as Samsara. Each stage defined by naturally occurring rhythms and routines felt in yourself, as well as in the universe.
As we cycle through this physical life, we have portals into the divine. A place of purity, innocence, connection to spirit, and oneness that is always with us. We can find this place of beauty and magic in the backdrop of nature, in the sacred geometry of our stars, and in the prisms of rainbows. We can access this at any time. Fabia seeks to depict this in her paintings through her sparkles, paint splatters, painterly brushstrokes, and splashes of colors and rainbows juxtaposed with figures and landscapes, giving the viewer a feeling of timelessness and wonder.
Watching how her paintings develop, you realize that she is exploring and learning as she goes. Observing her brilliancy, one would think that she had a clear picture of the end result, but she doesn’t start out with all the answers. Her paintings give back to her as they transform and change, giving her insight into the magical nature of our world.
Fabia uses traditional oil painting techniques and also rebels against tradition with her use of sparkles, glitter and expressive color. Her Rainbeau to the physicality of the soul.
A graduate of the Art Center College of Design, Natalia Fabia began showing her art in group exhibitions around Los Angeles in the early 2000’s, establishing herself as a contender in the figurative painting arena. Using her surroundings and life as a rich garden of inspirations, Fabia began making colorful, sultry scenes filled with people, lush environments, ornate fashion, light, interiors, glamour, graffiti, landscapes, punk rock music and an unapologetic sexiness entirely of her own.
Fabia finds a genuine comfort and truth in the realness and imperfections within her subjects. She glorifies the individuality and unique aspects of her human figures. Hers is a colorful world celebrating the vibrant diversity and beauty of the life she lives and that exists around her. Painting, she feels, exists to allow artists to create any world they want – make it, and make it yours. Infused with Fabia’s signature style, vividly saturated candy color palettes and a dazzling spectrum of light, her work is a combination of fantasy narratives and actual moments captured from the artist’s life.
Influenced by artists the likes of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, John William Waterhouse, John Singer Sargent, Rebecca Campbell, Lisa Yuskavage etc., plus fashion designers like Alexander McQueen, Fabia’s painterly studies in oil are marked by bold, determined strokes that offer depth and clarity. Having studied with many contemporary masters, her knowledge and understanding of the color palette underscore her ability to bring life and light to canvas.
Fabia's work has been featured in numerous galleries including Corey Helford Gallery, Jonathan Levine Gallery in New York, The Shooting Gallery in San Francisco, Q Art Salon in Santa Ana, and M Modern in Palm Springs. Museum exhibits include Bristol Museum of Art, MXW Masterworks group exhibition at Long Beach Museum of Art and Lancaster Museum of Art.
She has been featured in Juxtapoz, New York Arts magazine, Hi Fructose, Art Ltd., Angeleno Magazine, ELLE, Nylon and The Huffington Post. Fabia was featured in LA Weekly’s 2010 People Issue as one of “LA’s 100” most fascinating people.
Born in 1983, Natalia Fabia is of Polish descent and was raised in Southern California, where she graduated class of 2006 from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Fabia has had multiple solo shows and is represented by Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles. Fabia currently works from her studio in Costa Mesa, CA.
