PRESS RELEASE
Nymphaeum: New Paintings by Kim Squaglia
May 21 – Jul 2, 2011
Holly Johnson Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of, Nymphaeum: New Paintings by Kim Squaglia. A reception for the artist will be held Saturday, May 21st, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The exhibition continues through Saturday, July 2nd.
When asked about this body of work, Squaglia suggests, “Nymphaeum evokes in my mind a place of solace, mystery and diversion. Ancient Greek and Roman Nymphaeums were grottos or architectural spaces filled with plants, flowers, fountains and paintings. My personal version contains a group of paintings, which are abstract, but reference the botanical, the aquatic and the musical. One of my intentions is to create the illusion of movement and an impression of cavern-like depth. Dense, microscopic lives in a swamp, deep ocean trenches, or nebulous galaxies are some of my inspirations.”
Squaglia’s meticulous and labored technique consists of multiple layers of delicately painted patterns and microscopic structures layered between coats of resin. In some cases, the resin is clear and glossy, like hard candy. In others, it's sanded and cloudy, creating a dreamier quality.
In 2005 David Pagel, art critic for the Los Angeles Times, organized an exhibition for the Blaffer Gallery at the University of Houston focusing on the point of intersection between populism and opulence - or accessibility and luxury. The exhibition, POPulance, included work by Polly Apfelbaum, Gajin Fujita, Rachel Hecker, Jeff Koons, Beatriz Milhazes, Takashi Murakami, Lari Pittman, Marcelo Pombo, David Reed, Kim Squaglia, and Fred Tomaselli among others. The exhibition traveled to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, NC.
Ms. Squaglia’s work is included in the permanent collections of The Crocker Museum of Art in Sacramento, The Progressive Insurance Collection in Cleveland, The Neiman Marcus Collection (San Francisco, San Antonio and Atlanta), The Microsoft Collection in Seattle, Capitol One Bank Collection in Houston, and Focus-Abengoa Collection in Seville, Spain. Her work has been written about in various publications including Voices of Art Magazine, San Antonio Current, and Art Lies – Texas Art Journal.
Kim Squaglia received her BFA from California State University at Chico in 1996 and her MFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2000. In 2001, she received an Artpace Travel Grant and was a resident at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Skowhegan, Maine. She currently lives and works in Sacramento.