Alexandra Pacula
Polish-born, New York-based artist Alexandra Pacula (b. 1979) paints large-scale works that explore the dynamic energy of cities at night. With virtuosic brushwork, vibrant color, and fluid gesture, Pacula captures the motion and chaos as well as the sublime beauty of urban space.
Her streets are filled with light that travels almost of its own accord within the compositions, and she has developed a nontraditional style of painting that combines impressionism, expressionism, and photorealism. The resulting paintings ensnare the eye and transport the viewer to another dimension, reminiscent of the fleeting yet mesmerizing moments that take place only in the big city.
Pacula’s work has been exhibited throughout the US as well as Russia, Spain, London, and Paris. In 2010, she was the recipient of a Fellowship in Painting from the New York Foundation for the Arts as well as a one-year residency at the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation, sponsored by the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation. Pacula was also the 2008 winner of the Saatchi Showdown Competition.
Pacula received her MFA at Montclair State University in 2006 and her BFA from Rutgers in 2002. She works and lives in Brooklyn.
My work investigates a world of visual intoxication; it captures moments of enchantment, which are associated with urban nightlife. I am fascinated by the ambiance of the city at night and its seductive qualities. The breathtaking turbulence of speeding vehicles and hasty pedestrians evoke feelings of wonder and disorientation. The vibrant lights become a magical landscape with enticing opportunities and promises of fulfillment.
In our seemingly content society there is a struggle to achieve greater levels of enjoyment. We explore various environments and activities in search of pleasure. Extravagant lights of night environments seduce us to participate in curious events, enticing us to experience new forms of satisfaction.
In my oil paintings I aim to capture various atmospheres that occur in such environments. Through observation and documentation I assemble images, which become visual tools for my paintings. I concentrate on how the mind perceives and evaluates surroundings while under the influence of a social climate.
I recreate the feeling of dizziness and confusion by letting the paint blur and allowing shapes to dissolve. I suggest motion in order to slow down the scene and capture the fleeting moments, which tend to be forgotten. The sense of motion is intensified with the use of quick vigorous lines and sharp perspectives. By interpreting lights in graphic or painterly ways, I create a sense of space, alluding to a hallucinogenic experience. I want the viewer’s eye to travel within my composition and experience a familiar, exhilarating event of an actual nightly excursion.
BORN
1979, Poland
EDUCATION
2006 MFA, Painting /Drawing, Montclair State University (MSU), Montclair NJ
2002 BFA, Painting/ Drawing, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, NJ
2019 “Megacity,” Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
2017 “Vertical City,” Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
2014 “Luminous Heights,” Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
2013 “Pacula/Ruddell,” Two-Person Exhibit, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
“veloCity,” Might Tanaka Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2012 “Shifting Perspectives,” Mighty Tanaka Gallery, DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY
2011 “Recent Works,” Zadok Gallery, Miami, FL
2010 Two-Person Show, C2 Gallery, Long Island, NY
“Turbulent Utopia,” Mighty Tanaka Gallery, DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY
2009 “Mighty Tanaka Presents: Alexandra Pacula and JMR,” Dapper Dan Imperial Gallery, New York, NY
2008 “Evocations of the Night,” BOS, Brooklyn, NY
2007 “After Dark”, Walsh Gallery, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ
“Nightlife,” BOS, Brooklyn, NY
2005 “Bemused Satisfaction,” MFA Gallery, MSU, Montclair, NJ
“Anywhere but Here,” MFA Gallery, MSU, Montclair, NJ
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021 Winter Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
2020 Summer Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
Winter Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
2019 “The Female Eye,” Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
Art New York, NY
76th Regional Exhibition, Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, NY
Summer Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
Winter Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
2018 ArtMiami: Context, Miami, FL
“Light,” CoAD Gallery, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ
Nocturne, Booth Gallery, New York, NY
Art New York, NY
Winter Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
2017 ArtMiami: Context, Miami, FL
Summer Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
Context Art New York, NY
Winter Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
2016 “50 Years a Dealer: George Henoch Shechtman,” Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
ArtMiami: Context, Miami, FL
Portal Art Fair, Federal Hall National Memorial, New York, NY
2015 ArtMiami: Context, Miami, FL
“McKinsey Exhibition,” NYFA, New York, NY
Summer Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
2014 ArtMiami: Context, Miami, FL
Winter Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
Second Time Around: The Hubcap as Art, The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester, VA
2013 ArtMiami: Context, Miami, FL
“The City,” Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
“Illuminators,” OK Harris Works of Art, New York, NY
“Nocturnes: Romancing the Night”, National Arts Clubs, New York, NY
Art Stage Singapore, International Art Fair, Singapore
Fountain Art Fair, New York, NY
“Caution! Not a Photo,” Lazarev Gallery, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Dallas Art Fair, TX
2012 Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
“Caution! Not a Photo,” Lazarev Gallery, Saint Petersburg, Russia
“Urban Intersection,” Quidley and Company Fine Art, Boston, MA
“Dark Pop 4,” Last Rites Gallery, New York, NY
Fountain Art Fair, New York, NY & Miami, FL
Art Moscow, International Fair of Contemporary Art, Russia
2011 Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
Galerie L’Oeil du Prince, Paris, France
“Dark Water,” Corpo Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
“Paint Works,” Gowanus Ballroom, Brooklyn, NY
“Vast Expanses – Shrinking Spaces,” Paul Vincent Gallery, Hoboken, NJ
Fountain Art Fair, Miami, FL
artMRKT Hamptons, Bridgehampton, NY
2010 Gallery Henoch, New York, NY
12” x 12”, Mighty Tanaka Gallery, Brookyn, NY
“Aftershock: Lines and Vibrations,” Alfa Art Gallery, New Brunswick, NJ
Colectiva de Invierno, Galeria de Arte Mada Primavesi, Madrid, Spain
NYFA Group Show, Pfizer Inc., New York, NY
Art Hamptons, Bridgehampton, NY
Governors Island Art Fair, Governors Island, NY
“Storytelling,” Memorial Sloan-Kettering Infusion Center, Brooklyn, NY
“Mystery Tour Revisited,” Chelsea Art Museum, New York, NY
“Mystery Tour,” Tompkins Sq. Library Gallery, New York, NY
“Ars Graphis,” Gitana Rosa Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
“Oil Slick,” Exhibit/benefit, Gitana Rosa Gallery and BOS, Brooklyn, NY
“Art Cycle,” Index Art Center, Newark, NJ
“It’s All a Blur,” Shore Institute of Contemporary Art, Long Branch, NJ
2009 “Carnival,” Gitana Rosa Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Governors Island Art Fair, Governors Island, NY
“From Here to There,” Arts Council of Morris Area, Morristown, NJ
“Lilliput,” Walsh Gallery, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ
Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
“Artlog,” Gallery Bar, New York, NY
Verge Art Fair, New York, NY
“In the Raw,” Mighty Tanaka alternative space, Brooklyn, NY
2008 The Westinghouse Project, NJSOA Gallery, Newark, NJ
“Timeless: The Art of Drawing,” Morris Museum, Morristown, NJ
“Fantasy or Reality,” Gallery 364 , Brooklyn NY “Best of show winner”
Del Veinte Galeria, Cantabria, Spain
Lumen House Gallery, Arts Sale Benefit, Brooklyn, NY
2007 “The Modified History of Downtown Newark,” NJIT, Newark, NJ
“Montclair in Manhattan,” PPOW Gallery, New York, NY
“Lilliput, Tiny Art for Big People,” Red Saw Gallery, Newark, NJ
Project 30, Juried online exhibition, Project30.com
“99¢,” Jersey City Museum and Victory Hall Inc., Jersey City, NJ
2006 “Newark Between Us,” National Newark building, Newark, NJ
“Jailhouse Revival,” NJIT, Newark, NJ
“Fresh Meat/Young Blood”, New Jersey’s New Masters, The Shore Institute of Contemporary Arts, Long Branch, NJ
“Triscaidekamaniacal,” MFA Thesis Exhibition, Axis Gallery, New York, NY
“Metro Show,” Traveling Exhibition, City Without Walls, Newark, NJ
2005 Annual International Juried Exhibition, SICA, The Shore Institute of Contemporary Arts, Long Branch, NJ
Newark Gallery Crawl, One Gateway Center, Newark NJ
MSU Second Year MFA Show, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Amos Eno Biennale, Amos Eno Gallery, New York, NY
2002 Paul Robeson Cultural Center, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
2001 Annual Mason Gross Art Open, Mason Gross Gallery, New Brunswick, NJ
AWARDS & HONORS
2010 Robert Sterling Clark Visual Arts Space Award
Fellow in Painting from the New York Foundation for the Arts
2008 Winner of Saatchi Showdown Competition
Best of show, Gallery 364, Reality or Fantasy
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
American Art Collector, March 2019 (article)
Professional Artist Magazine, June/July 2013
The Artist’s Magazine, (Cover), May 2018
Huffington Post, “A Rite of Spring: Art New York and CONTEXT New York in Bloom,” May 3, 2017
Creative Boom (blog), August 2016
The Artist’s Magazine, (Cover), May 2016
Artsy Editorial, “High-Flying Nighttime Vistas Capture New York from a Bird’s-Eye View,” October 2014
Fine Art Today, August3
20 minutos, Dec. 17, 2013 (Spanish)
Professional Artist Magazine, June/July 2013
New York Magazine, “To Do,” May 1-8, 2013
Expert Magazine. Russian, December 2012
Juxtapoz Magazine, February 2012
Huffington Post, March 2012
WATCH Magazine, Russian Edition No 6, 2011
The Visual ARTBEAT Magazine, Issue #7, 2011
Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art, July 2011
Artist Daily, August 2010
Polish Daily News “Nowy Dziennik”, July 2009, February 2010
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 2008
The Observer, November 2007
Art in America, October 2006
The Star Ledger, October 2006
Atlanticville, June 2006
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
PACE University, New York, NY
Miniature Museum of Contemporary Art, Amstelveen, Netherlands
Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA
Seton Hall University, South Orange NJ
CSU, California State University, CA
Autonomous Research, New York, NY
Berkshire Global Advisors, New York, NY
The Clearing House, New York, NY
Digital Garage, Inc., Tokyo, Japan
Grant Thornton LLP, New York, NY
Halstead Properties, New York, NY
Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA
Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, Tokyo, Japan