This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Arts & Entertainment

Up Close with Local Artist Arie Galles

The longtime Laguna Niguel resident has an exhibit at the Founders Hall Gallery at Soka University through Jan. 6, 2012.

Longtime artist and Laguna Niguel resident Arie Galles has been keen on art ever since he was a 3-year-old growing up in his native Poland.

And beginning tonight, Sept. 9, his work will be seen at an exhibition called HEARTLAND II Reflected-Light Paintings, at the Founders Hall Gallery at Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo, through Jan. 6, 2012. 

An opening reception is also set for Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011, from 5:30-8 p.m. The show will occupy both floors of the gallery, and it coincides with the opening of Soka University's new Performing Arts Center later that evening. Both events are part of the 10th   anniversary celebration of Soka University. 

Find out what's happening in Laguna Niguel-Dana Pointwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I never wanted to be anything else but an artist," he said. "In Poland, at age 3, I was drawing with my father's chalks, (he was a tailor), on the red floorboards of our apartment.

"Our window looked out on railroad tracks, and each floorboard was a perfect place to draw innumerable trains. My parents always encouraged me and were proud of my talent."

Find out what's happening in Laguna Niguel-Dana Pointwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The 24 works of art were created over a three-year period, and most were completed during his sabbatical this year, he said. 

"I work with light, the glowing radiation of fluorescent color, painted on a vertical armature of aluminum extrusion, reflected onto a white surface. The images are non-physical, existing in the gaps between the extrusions. The images created in, and of, the shadows are an anti-shadow.” 

In addition, his images are based on aerial views of landscapes throughout the American heartland, challenging the viewer’s perception by simultaneously dividing the colors while heightening the color saturation of reflected light. 

"My landscapes are pure light, and in essence, pure illusion.  In my art, rather than using light to expose hidden flaws, I use light to bring beautifully radiating images into existence," he said. "The preparatory idea-drawings don’t just evolve into my finished paintings, they metamorphose from pigment to colored light."

Laguna Niguel Patch: What is the continued fascination with being an artist?

Arie Galles: It’s the best way, for me at least, to spend a lifetime.  It is the closest that I, as a male, can get to creating and bringing to existence a new entity. To create a thing of beauty that never existed before, to see colors and shapes spring from one's hands, mind and soul, is incredibly rewarding.

Patch: What is your connection to Soka?

Galles: I came here in fall 2004 for my new position as professor of art and director of creative arts. I served in that capacity for six years, and now that I am back to just full-time teaching, I have been able to devote myself to being an artist/educator rather than an artist/educator/administrator. 

Patch:  What has been the best part of being an artist?

Galles: Finding true freedom in a self-imposed overbearingly demanding discipline. The exhilaration of seeing beautiful new work that you have just completed. Having someone show your work, like your work, and, best of all, having someone buy your work.

Patch: Where is your career headed next?

Galles: I truly don’t know. I look forward to the next semester of teaching. I probably will embark on a new series of paintings and hope to have the angel of inspiration hit me with a sledge hammer of new ideas.  For now, I have cleaned my studio and am waiting to turn it into a chaotic environment once again. 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?