Roland Kulla ~ Hyperreal at Gallery 180

Roland Kulla, C&O Canal II, Oil on Canvas, 36" x 48", 2012

Roland Kulla is one of four painters included in "Hyperreal" at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. The exhibition presents imagery of objects, selectively-composed and realistically-rendered to intensify their visual impact.

Kulla, a Chicago resident, has been painting bridges—or segments of bridges—for more than two decades. His paintings have been presented on the main stage art scene with recent solo exhibitions in Berlin and New York. Created in the last few months, three new Roland Kulla paintings are included in Hyperreal at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. In discussing his work, Kulla elaborates… 

“I’ve used bridges as my primary inspiration for the last twenty years. Based in Chicago, I began my exploration with the world’s largest collection of bascule bridges. In 2006, I began to branch out to other “bridge cities” including Boston, New York City, and Pittsburgh. In 2011, I explored the bridges in Berlin, Germany.

I select certain design elements and eliminate background context in order to emphasize form. The details of massive structures reveal the many individual components. What may appear to be a random arrangement of bolts and rivets has, on close inspection, a rigidly patterned logic. Abstracted from their surroundings, the bridges take on new aspects. Some look dangerous, others elegant. The forms are presented in “natural” bridge colors in bold contrast to the voids that they span. They float in light that plays across the surface details. The variations can be simple or elaborate, ranging from limited themes of a few notes to grand, fugal extravaganzas.

The subjects are painted to look “real”, but this is a deliberate illusion. I paint an idealized version of reality on a scale that allows the viewer to enter into the structure and appreciate the monumentality of the form.”

Hyperreal will be presented at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago through February 28, 2013 with previews beginning on Monday, January 14th. An Opening Reception will take place on Friday, January 18 from 5:30-7:30 pm. All works are available for purchase. Gallery 180 is located at 180 N. Wabash—at the corner of Lake and Wabash—in Chicago’s Loop. The gallery is open Monday through Thursday from 8am-8pm, Friday 8am-5:30pm and Saturday 9am-5pm. Additional information can be found at gallery180.com

Roland Kulla lives and paints in Chicago. Recent exhibitions include “Berlinier Liste” ARTexhibitionLink, Berlin, Germany, “Urban Patterns” at George Billis Gallery, New York, and inclusion in the Rockford Art Museum Biennial. Kulla is represented by George Billis Gallery in New York, ZIA Gallery in Winnetka, IL, and James Gallery in Pittsburgh, PA.

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Roland Kulla ...Wonderfully Obsessive

Generally speaking, I don't have a lot of free time on my hands. But I recently began a 15-week sabbatical from my teaching duties at The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago, and what I've found is that I'm beginning to "catch up" with all of the things that I would try to accomplish while handling a rather intense schedule. So... I was sitting in front of my laptop trying to identify the next task to be addressed, and I realized that there was nothing immediately pending. Already at my laptop, I decided to spend some time exploring the numerous web sites which I've bookmarked in the past year or so... most of them containing works by artists that I wanted to review. And then I came across the site of an old friend.

I've known Roland Kulla for roughly fifteen years... basically from the beginning of his career as a fine artist. His work is amazing. His passion for the steel structure of a bridge is obvious. On his web site he declares "...I am fascinated by the functional dynamism of the bridge form. On the most fundamental level, the materials are arranged by engineers to get a job done. There is a rigid logic in the arrangement of bolts and girders... But while we use them, we don't usually stop to "see" them. I find beauty in this mundane reality and express it in my work."

Over the years, Kulla's work has become more and more obsessively detailed. His compositions have evolved to include hidden—or at least subtle implications of—secondary content. Kulla's love and passion for painting light, and the way that it changes in the evening sky, is an extra benefit for the viewer. Take a moment to review his web site. And if you have an opportunity to view the work in person, you won't be disappointed. You may be able to see some of these paintings this May at Art Chicago... most likely presented by the George Billis Gallery out of New York. Roland Kulla... Wonderfully Obsessive... And yes, the above image is a painting!

Image: "Riverside Parkway" 60 x 40" Acrylic on Canvas, 2007