Gary Korlin - (b. 1956) works in a decidedly French nature
and the naturalistic approach is embedded in his 19th Century French Academic
training, coupled with a thorough understanding of classical aesthetics and
technique. He seeks an impression of life from a delicately modeled rose to the
energy of a wind-swept landscape, relying continuously on his ability to create
the illusion of the third dimension. From figures in darkened spaces to patterns
of blown weeds in sun-drenched fields, his naturalistic eye captures the mood of
the subject and the emotion it evokes.
Gary Korlin began his art career at an early age. His formal art education
began at a state college but was soon replaced with specialized training. The
Minneapolis College of Art and Design offered learned mechanics of picture
making through an in-depth study of perspective followed by color theory,
abstract composition and elements of design. Gary Korlin "Venetian Girl"
Unsettled with a career in illustration and architectural renderings, he took
to traveling. While living in Australia he became aware of 19th Century
Australian landscape painters. Taken by their naturalistic view and sense of
reality, he returned to St. Paul and enrolled in Atelier Lack, which offered the
finest training in 19th Century French Academic drawing and painting.
After being placed in a figure drawing competition at the New York Academy of
Art, he was invited to attend their 2 year program. After this, Gary took a
position with Evergreene Painting Studios, a New York based mural company, which
sent him to work in South Africa. It was there that the American painter met his
wife-to-be and together they moved to Italy and lived in the mountains
overlooking Florence, deep in the heart of Tuscany. His work in Italy was well
recognized by the Marquise Della Robbia, descendent of Luca Della Robbia, the
15th century Italian sculptor.
Returning to a larger studio in St. Paul, Gary continues with life-sized
figure work, landscapes, still-lifes and an ever-growing demand for portraiture.
Still frequenting the European scene, his paintings hang in collections in
England, France, Italy and Austria. His work has been shown in San Francisco,
New York, London, South Africa and France