Polish-born, New York-based artist Alexandra Pacula (b. 1979) paints large-scale works exploring the dynamic energy of cities at night. Seen from towering heights, Pacula's pulsating metropolis is a mercurial grid of hazy blue and orange ribbons of light that reach north, south, east and west. This cacophony of light remains mostly in the street level, allowing the viewer to feel at once removed from and omniscient in the scene.Much of Pacula's work for the past six years has been an investigation of visually intoxicating environments. Pacula simulates the city's turbulent nocturnal energy with a lexicon of marks all her own; her virtuosic brushwork, vibrant color and fluid gestures transform moving cars into glossy bands of red, while swishy circles become reflective air ducts that sit atop squares of black rooftops. Lines of yellow zigzags mimic the time-lapse vision of the viewer's own movement, and capture a kind of elusive, frenetic energy that powers the city.
Pacula's work has been exhibited throughout the United States as well as Russia, Spain, London, and Paris. In 2010, she was the recipient of the New York Foundation for the Arts Painting Fellowship, as well as a one-year residency at the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation, sponsored by the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation. In 2008 Pacula won the Saatchi Showdown Competition. She received her MFA at Montclair State University in 2006 & her BFA from Rutgers in 2002.For a preview of the show, and to hear Alexandra talk about her studio practice, watch this video. For a catalogue of Pacula's recent work, click here. For more information on Alexandra Pacula, please contact the gallery.