Basic Ways of Being

Cuadro Fine Art Gallery is renowned for hosting the best international exhibitions and Gary Komarin's A Wilder Blue series only confirmed that; as a fan of Dubai's energy and forward thinking, Gary fits his favourite Middle Eastern art arena perfectly.

Although he now lives in a peaceful pocket of Connecticut, Gary Komarin was born and raised in the progressive hustle of 1950's New York to a Czech architect and Viennese writer. "Painting has always been in my blood and I'm so lucky to have that gift," he says. "We visited museums when I was very young and I gravitated to an imaginative world with extraordinary ease." Studying with American Master Philip Guston, he was urged to paint the unknown. "That resonated with me immediately; I like not knowing where I'm going creatively." And so the inspired protégé became an artist in his own right, boasting his first dealer in New York as the esteemed Maxwell Davidson, based near the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MoMA) on East 78th Street. "My first piece was sold to a private dealer within an hour of getting it through the door," he recalls.

Life experience is paramount to Gary, and plays a pivotal role in his child-like methods of expression. "Inspiration is the result of what you take in and appreciate throughout an entire lifetime. For me, that encompasses all things living and green, terrific music, great architecture and art, energy, and people who can laugh while moving on with their lives. I have always admired Matisse and Picasso, Mondrian's later work, certain Cave painters, and 15th century Italian painters, namely Morandi and Giacometti." On the same thread, Gary explains his love of children's attitudes: "They are very free, non-judgmental, and entirely ‘in the moment', which is the best way to be," he says, which is why simplistic crayon drawings have become a signature feature in his work.

Applying quick-drying mediums, Gary etches onto canvas to create those somewhat ‘urgent' compositions. The entire process is akin to a personal evolution or birth of sorts. "Every piece establishes an identity and leads me in a particular direction, but every one fails in some way before it succeeds. When the work is able to survive on its own, I send it out into the world to become stronger. Art chooses you, rather than you choosing it; I am quite convinced of this. The trick is to get out of the way and let it blossom."

Gary Rates:

Era: The late 50's were kind of cool, when designers really began to play with cars, furniture, and clothing design and things began to swing and become fully alive

Music: Bach, late Beatles, Bob Dylan and Mozart and the sound of a babbling brook

Film: Hud, a terrific black and white film from 1961 directed by Martin Ritt about a west Texas cowhand's conflicts with his father. We spent some time in Texas in the early 80's and the film really caught the region's dry and dusty tone

Attitude: Be present, dont hang on to the past and keep it alive and energetic

Place: The Marais in Paris, the bucolic pocket of countryside where I live in Connecticut and gorgeous, silky smooth tropical beaches

Gary Hates:

Era: The Civil War era in America; there was too much reckless killing and, while Matthew Brady took some outstanding photographs, we are now learning many were restricted

Music: Elevator music and mindless music in shops and restaurants - it's more noise than music; silence is far preferable.

Film: Any film that is highly predictable, manipulative with an overly aggressive soundtrack. As with painting, I like films where I cannot tell where the film is ‘going'; when I can see everything down the road, I get bored.

Attitude: The blame game - ‘shoulda, woulda, coulda'

Place: Cities that have destroyed themselves with conflict