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Omaha artist Michael Giron may never turn his oil-based paint into gold.
Nevertheless, his new exhibit at the Hot Shops Art Center offers a delightful exploration of 17th-century philosophy and alchemy.
Many of the 25 paintings in the show — called “Rare Gems and Dynamite” — found their inspiration in Michael Maier’s 1617 book of alchemic emblems called “Atalanta Fugiens.”
Maier, a German philosopher and alchemist, filled his book with symbolic engravings.
His alchemy, however, wasn’t a quest for gold. Rather, it was a metaphysical search for spiritual transformation.
That’s the kind of alchemy that interests Giron, who teaches art at Metropolitan Community College and Bellevue University.
His “Aeon (In the Belly of the Winds)” is based on an engraving from “Atalanta Fugiens.” It shows a godlike figure with wind and clouds pouring from his head and hand. An embryonic figure is in his belly.
“He is an alchemic symbol of creativity,” Giron said recently.
Giron’s “Midas” has an obvious connection to alchemy — the mythical king Midas turned everything he touched into gold.
But Giron’s painting seems to owe more to Salvador Dali’s surrealism than to 17th-century mysticism. The painting shows heads, torsos, flowers and other objects floating in a primeval soup of red, gold, black and orange paint.
“I originally got the inspiration for that image after looking at embers flying off a burning log,” Giron said.
Giron’s “Sun and Moon” would appear to be chock-full of Enlightenment symbolism. It shows nude male and female figures with sun and moon heads, respectively. The sun is a symbol of wisdom and rebirth, and the moon represents feminine energy.
The creative energies behind the work stemmed from a sense of desperation.
“I painted that work in just 10 hours,” Giron said. “I needed a birthday present for my wife.”
Arguably the most memorable painting in the exhibit is also the most straightforward: “Vicente Uribazo” is a portrait of a middle-aged man with a serious, even angry countenance. It is an image of Giron’s uncle.
“He works himself into the ground driving an asphalt truck 60 hours a week,” Giron said. “But the truth about him is that he is always happy.”
Contact the writer:
444-1076, john.pitcher@owh.com
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