"The Shape of Color Green"

Rafal Olbinski’s lush images are layered with complex psychology. He does not paint the landscape of scientific reality, but rather maps the interiors of the mind. Like Dali and Magritte before him, Olbinski’s work has a poetic resonance – he depicts the mind as a theater of dreams, with new attractions around every corner. “I believe that every artist falls in love with his work,” Olbinski says, “especially when you paint women.” Well known for his luxurious depictions of women, Olbinski’s nudes are both classical and controversial. He explores the mysterious aura of women who, although aloof, beckon to the viewer. A master of technique, he often draws on the works of Goya and Botticelli for inspiration. As in Goya’s time, the female form has the power to incite controversy. Recent disputes erupted over Olbinski’s image of a bare-breasted mermaid, designed for the 2006 Miss World contest in Poland. As a concession to Polish officials, Olbinski painted a scarf across the mermaid’s breast. Poetic humor is a quality rarely found in the fine arts, says Andre Parinuad, President of the International Arts Salon in Paris. Rafal Olbinski has this gift. He wants to show us that our imagination is a magical world, which we are recreating forever. He draws us into a different universe, and forces us to use our eyes to participate in a marvelous world which is the true dimension of dreams.