“My realistic oil paintings depict people with animal heads, often riding the New York City subway. I use fun details that connect to specific animals to tell humorous stories. I became fascinated by animals as a child during frequent trips to the zoo. I was also enthralled by the fantastical stories my parents read to me. An Art History class in college sparked my interest in classical European figurative paintings. I loved how these works presented views of the world that my mind could wander around in. I wanted to create my own contemporary version of them, so I studied classical painting techniques and hit on the idea of anthropomorphic figures with animal heads. I grew up in New York where the subway was the central place everyone came together so this became the primary setting for my characters.”- Matthew Grabelsky
FMM: Have you always had a great sense of humor?
I grew up in Jewish family in New York and humor was very much part of the culture. I started playing around with visual humor when I was in high school. It started as a way to entertain my friends and eventually became an integral part of my art.
FMM: Your art shows a hyperrealistic painting technique with a surreal penchant for unlikely juxtapositions. Tell us about your work.
I make realistic oil paintings of people with animal heads. I fell in love with classical European painting during an art history class in college. I loved how these painters were able to create visual stories, often with mythological characters, and I wanted to make something that followed in their footsteps. After college I moved to Italy to study classical painting techniques and eventually hit on the idea of creating a modern version of mythology where people with animal heads go about their days while riding the subway in New York City were I grew up.
FMM: Why have you chosen animals as your focus?
My parents took me to the zoo a lot when I was a kid and that started my fascination with animals. I love how they seem just like us in some ways and are completely alien in other ways.
FMM: Who has inspired your work?
My biggest inspiration is a group of nineteenth century European painters including William Bouguereau, Arnold Böcklin, and John William Waterhouse among others. I love how these painters created life-size figure paintings that make you feel like you are looking through a window into an imaginary painted world.
FMM: What makes the perfect juxtaposition?
I’m always looking for something that is fun and makes me laugh. I did one painting called Hello Kitten which featured a mother and her toddler with white cat heads. The mom was wearing a Hello Kitty t-shirt and her daughter looked directly at the viewer with her arms out, mimicking the pose of the cartoon character on the shirt. I had my friend pose for this piece with her daughter who at one point just naturally fell into the pose and I thought it was perfect.
FMM: Much of your work depicts your characters on subways, and males with mythological human hybrids. Which have resonated the most with collectors?
The first painting that I did in this series was me with a bull head and my girlfriend at the time sitting next to me on the New York City subway. It felt both personal and captured my unique mix of interests in a way nothing else I painted up to that point had done. It was also the first piece that people who saw my work really responded to. That led to a series of similar paintings with a couple where the man had an animal head. Eventually I decided to expand my imagery and started painting the women with animal heads as well.
Luckily I found that as my worked changed, people continued to collect it. As an artist I think its important to evolve, and I’m happy that my collectors have followed my journey with me.
FMM: Do you have repeat collectors?
I have a number of collectors who have bought several of my pieces. It’s great when someone gets one and then likes it so much when they have it up that they come back for more.
FMM: Do you have a favorite piece?
There are several that I have done that really resonate with me. Generally they are the ones that have something really personal in them or else the ones that I feel I executed particularly well. I did one a while back with a father and son with wolf heads. The boy has his head back like he’s howling and the dad bends down to listen. Behind them, there’s a poster for HBO’s summer film festival in Bryant Park. My dad worked at HBO when I was growing up and that festival was across the street from his office next to the main branch of the New York Public Library. This one in particular felt like it was me and my dad.
FMM: Where can we see your work?
My next show is coming up in January with Thinkspace in Los Angeles. I’ve got a bunch of new paintings at various degrees of completion that I’m excited to share when they’re done.
Instagram: @grabelsky
Twitter: @grabelsky
TikTok: @grabelsky
Facebook: grabelsky
Website: grabelsky.com
