For me, it’s much easier to loosen reality at night. In the day, there’s clarity in how light defines the shapes of our surroundings. At night, light bends and contorts familiar shapes and transforms the world according to whatever silhouettes the brain can make sense of. Your own psychology plays an interesting part in constructing this terrain. If you’re feeling peaceful, moonlight may turn the landscape into an ethereal dreamscape; if you’re paranoid, it may create an eerie shadowland. – Bambou Gili
The dreamy and surreal world constructed by Bambou Gili is filled with art historical references to a range of sources, including animation, pop culture (a recent body of work was inspired by The Chick’s 1999 song “Goodbye Earl”), and 16th and 18th century portraiture. Gili blends humor and intimacy in her works, while her subject matter varies from timeless portraits, contemporary interior scenes, and folkloric illustrations. Many of Gili’s paintings incorporate animals, seen here where two swans appear to fight among a strange marshland beside a craggily tree. Gili received her BA in Psychology and Studio Art from NYU and is now based in New Mexico. Her work has been the subject of a solo show at Arsenal Contemporary, New York; Cassina Projects; Y2K Projects; Monya Rowe; and the Night Gallery, Los Angeles.