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The New Contemporary Art Magazine
El Gato Chimney’s watercolor and gouache paintings blend flamboyant winged creatures, textiles, and other rustic elements with surreal results. After emerging as a self-taught street artist, he began to explore other avenues of expression through studies and experimentation. Now, the Italian artist has shown his works across the globe. He was last featured on HiFructose.com here.
Italian artist El Gato Chimney will present a series of mystical watercolors in his upcoming solo show at Stephen Romano Gallery in Brooklyn, "De Rerum Natura" (which translates to "The Nature of Things" from Latin). Opening March 5 and on view through April 30, the exhibition features whimsical works that pull pagan symbolism from a variety of cultures to create a fictional world of animal deities and anthropomorphic spirits. Though Chimney delves into various spiritual traditions, he does so with a sense of humor. His work is filled with absurdist juxtapositions and open-ended symbolism that alludes to a forgotten time that never truly existed.
Italian artist El Gato Chimney's paintings riff on occult motifs, juxtaposing magical and folkloric symbols with surreal elements. Populated by anthropomorphic animals, Chimney's world is imbued with a sense of playfulness as he invites viewers to suspend disbelief and indulge their imaginations. Originally self-taught, the artist got his start in the graffiti and street art scenes of Milan. While his new work appears to be influenced by Bosch rather than Banksy, his off-kilter juxtapositions evoke the tongue-in-cheek humor often found on the streets. El Gato Chimney currently has a solo show, "Metapsychic Paths," at Combustion Espontanea Art Gallery in Madrid on view through November 1.