N. SOALA

Biography

Painter and mixed media artist N. Soala's illustrations contain a particular brand of nostalgia for a time when animation had the ability, however short-lived, to be coy and subversive on myriad levels without the burden of a world that’s infiltrated from all conceivable angles by digitized branding and corporate agendas. Raised on the animations of John Kricfalusi (aka John K) and Mike Judge, Soala unleashes a stream-of-consciousness onto each work, carving out surrealistic dimensions that walk a fine line between crazy and mad. Like his predecessors, Soala has a gift for locating the beauty in the grotesque and for capturing just what it looks like to break down from the inside. Oftentimes in our efforts to take control of our emotional and psychological faculties, anger is the sanest state there is, with jealousy, envy, and amusement all equal close seconds. Soala paints from a place of skepticism and acceptance, of joy and fear – dualities that are far from accidental. The artist’s characters all seem to exist on the verge of collapse, yet from this supposed madness comes a host of disparate narratives both violent and frail.

CV

Past Exhibitions at Gitler &_____

Selected Artworks

Venus Exposed, 2015
Enamel on Acetate sheet
40 x 34 in. 

Microwavable Society, 2015
Enamel on Acetate sheet
40 x 35 in. 

Sam Hughes taught me, 2014
Enamel, Paint Marker on Plexi
30 x 30 in. 

A lust for the lost, 2014
Enamel, Paint Marker on Plexi
30 x 30 in. 

And to you, Star Daisy, 2014
Enamel on Acetate sheet
46 x 40 in. 

Gardens of aggression, 2014
Enamel, Paint Marker on Plexi
30 x 30 in. 

Appendix, ca. 2013
Enamel, Paint Marker on Plexi
30 x 30 in. 

Central processing, ca. 2013
Enamel, Paint Marker on Plexi
30 x 30 in. 

Fleet of feet, ca. 2013
Enamel, Paint Marker on Plexi
30 x 30 in. 

Toxins & Blessings, ca. 2013
Enamel, Paint Marker on Plexi
30 x 30 in. 

Archimedes, ca. 2013
Enamel, Paint Marker on Plexi
30 x 30 in. 

Radon is rad, ca. 2013
Enamel, Paint Marker on Plexi
30 x 30 in. 

Free Hot Dogs Tomorrow, ca. 2013
Enamel, Paint Marker on Plexi
30 x 30 in.