Nicholas Bohac’s Immersive, Celestial Paintings

San Francisco-based visual artist Nicholas Bohac contemplates “the big picture” in his immersive, mixed media works that feature celestial figures amidst dreamlike landscapes. In his artist statement, Bohac writes that his purpose is “to question the universe and where, exactly, people fit into it… Through my work, I aim to explore the overall phenomenon of what it means to be human, past, present and future.”

Working in the techniques of painting, collage and printmaking, Bohac utilizes a combination of materials, from acrylics and spray paints to gold leaf and holographic film. While Bohac’s paintings clearly draw from the natural world, they also tend to blur the boundaries between nature and technology. One example is the piece “Glitch Iceberg”, in which the subject is positioned against an abstract background resembling computer screen glitches. Other works feature starry skies interjected with geometric shapes and psychedelic colors and suggest a world that is both familiar and surreal.

With a sense of wonder and curiosity, Bohac contemplates how our interactions with our surroundings help to define who we are. He portrays figures roaming through and exploring vast landscapes, capturing moments with camera phones or simply gazing out at the scenery in quiet introspection. Newer works also ponder how human impact has altered our planet and affected our relationship to the environment.

Nicholas Bohac was born and raised in Ralston, a suburb of Omaha, Nebraska. He studied at Bellevue University and earned his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. His work has appeared in New American Paintings and at gallery exhibitions in Portland (Oregon), Los Angeles, and San Francisco. More of his art can be found on his Instagram.