Rising Brooklyn-based artist, Robert Nava, is to have his solo exhibition of new paintings at New York City’s Vito Schnabel Gallery. Angels will feature works portraying winged figures, mythological subjects, colored monsters and otherworldly ephemera.

Most of Nava’s recent works are inspired by figures in ancient mythology, created with a “carefully done wrong” approach and using acrylic, grease pencil, and spray paint. He manipulates the forms of fabled figures to develop a motley crew of colorful creatures.

“Within the boundaries of a single painting or between multiple works spread across his studio floor, forces of rivalry and conflict erupt and dissolve not only among the depicted figures, but the modes of depiction themselves,” said the gallery in a statement. “Nava’s distinctive visual language is highly personal. It is culled from sources ranging from ancient Sumerian, Egyptian, and Mayan art, and prehistoric cave paintings, to the powerfully symbolic mandala and such tropes of popular culture as gaming imagery and fantasy genre movies.”

The central subject of the works in “Angels” is the seraphim which first appeared in a 2017 painting entitled Angelina Jolie Joan of Arc. The gallery expresses Nava is “fascinated by the ways in which history and mythology evolve over time, shapeshifting to accommodate their eras and to redefine living individuals as timeless archetypes.”

Angels by Robert Nava will run from February 25 until April 17. Visit Vito Schnabel’s website to learn more.