Wailuku Artist to be Featured in New York Exhibition

“The Oher Side of Secrets” by Annika Banko.

By Maui Now Staff

Chelsea’s Agora Gallery in New York will feature the original work of Wailuku artist Annika Banko in an exhibition called “Emerging Transformation,” which opens Aug. 25 and runs until Sept. 12, 2015.

The opening reception is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 27, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Art lovers who enjoy thought-provoking artworks and meeting talented and interesting artists is encouraged to attend.

Banko’s abstract works appear on the canvas as richly pigmented acrylic manifestations of her emotions and actions. Cool, multifaceted planes of blue and purple layer over and under hints of rust, black and green, creating seas of pure emotional pigment.

In other images, white and tan glow through the cool colors, establishing moments of light amidst the actively applied and textured hues.

The paint is layered and dried in a repeating process creating depth among indistinct forms.

Painting with an active hand and even using her whole body, Banko creates dynamic compositions that pulse with movement and abstract thought. The paint blends, blurs, and sits roughly on top of itself. In some works, thick veins of material run subtly over the canvas, throwing attention through the composition to the many deliberate variations that appear in each patch of color.

Banko imbues her work with spontaneity, applying paint quickly and with a variety of tools, and allowing time for the pigments to build up into a deeper work. Her expressionistic approach results in paintings that pulse with feeling.

For more information about the exhibition, go online.