THE ART PERSPECTIVE

For this month’s feature, Gidge Uriza visits Hyperborea Gallery and Yuki Kitsune Art Gallery.

This month I decided to dabble around with some smaller galleries to see what undiscovered gems I might run into. I am easily entertained by what will come up in search and this month I stumbled onto two very different galleries built with love and passion that I felt compelled to share.

Hyperborea Gallery immediately intrigued me with it’s self description. Creator Dani (fenrizwolf) says it is :

Nordic art gallery, oil paintings inspired in the Nordic way of life. Poetically expressing the melancholic lyricism of existence...

The worship of nature, the struggles of everyday life.

*Self-Taught Artist*

I felt that this romantic description of a harsh, Nordic life had to be checked out. Imagine my surprise when I landed in a snowstorm and immediately was faced with a rustic shack with a neon sign saying “Hyperborea”. Perhaps a refuge from the storm as well as an art gallery was being provided? I found my way inside and found a tiny but inspired gallery of nature scenes, drawn with heavy brush strokes and thick paint to depict the power of northern nature.

Scenes of the ocean, the forests and the weather dominated the room - reminding the traveler of what was outside should they choose to leave the comfort of the fireplace nearby. The gallery is small but the works are strong and created with an intensity of brush stroke teetering between impressionism and expressionism.

The gallery is a must see if this theme is of interest to you.

My next stop was the Yuki Kitsune Art Gallery which is located in Yuki Kitsune Park. It is located in a large, Japanese-style public park complete with Onsen (hot spring), cafe and botanical gardens. I am going to explore the rest later without fail.

The art gallery consists of three floors and an outbuilding. On the first floor I found some rather traditional pieces representing winter in Second Life which were by creator Specist Demina. I always love activity on the grid, however, and was thrilled to find a group live painting vignette set up. It is free for the public to come and have a live painting event at their leisure and * was charmed by that idea. What a fun night for friends, you could paint in both lives!

On the second floor were works of a more whimsical nature by Cas Kamachi. Their profile says that they are a genetically created monster, sometimes an opossum which just reminded me about what I love about the grid, truly. Their artwork was fun, the sort of work you stop and grin at because it makes you smile even when the themes might be dark it still engages you. I love the pastel series of girls of various forms but truly the jackalope express has my heart. I was engaged in every piece on the second floor and may have to go back and go shopping, I can always use new art in my life.

Both of these galleries are worth a wander to enlarge your soul with some lovely and original art today. They also both offer a free gift, and we grid wanderers always love a free gift.