Nico Pearleyes, Surreal Landscape and Abstract Clouds, 2024, Acrylic Painting on Paper

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This acrylic painting on 300 g/m² paper belongs to Nico Pearleyes’ series Ways to the Unknowable, a cycle of works … Read more This acrylic painting on 300 g/m² paper belongs to Nico Pearleyes’ series Ways to the Unknowable, a cycle of works inspired by the spiritual and philosophical theme of traversing uncertainty. The title, Unway to the Unknown, refers to the paradoxical journey through what cannot be mapped, a concept that Pearleyes connects to the writings of the 16th-century Spanish mystic St. John of the Cross. In his text The Ascent of Mount Carmel, St. John described the need to abandon certainty, comfort, and ego in order to enter the fullness of knowledge and freedom. In this work, Pearleyes translates that mystical idea into a surreal visual language. The landscape unfolds with no visible path: rolling green forms evoke both trees and waves, while pink-striped buildings emerge at the edges of the composition. Above, floating abstract clouds twist in improbable gestures beneath a luminous sun or moon. The atmosphere is unfamiliar yet strangely coherent, suggesting a hidden order that does not depend on the viewer’s expectations but reveals itself through sensation. The painting continues Pearleyes’ exploration of the boundary between reality and imagination. Formed at the intersection of Renaissance composition, Korean visual traditions, skateboard culture, Post-Impressionism, and Pop Surrealism, his imagery combines architectural structures, biomorphic vegetation, and atmospheric distortions. Here, the result is a vision of a world where no single path is offered, but where the experience of uncertainty itself becomes transformative. As with the entire series, Unway to the Unknown asks viewers to confront the possibility of meaning beyond the ego, where self-abnegation unveils no road but still leads into deeper awareness. The work stands as both painting and philosophical reflection, a vivid articulation of Pearleyes’ practice in which symbolic landscapes and dreamlike atmospheres invite us to reconsider our relationship with the real. Dimensions: 24 x 32 cm unframed, 30.2 x 38.2 cm framed. Excellent condition. This piece is attributed to the mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark and no
official proof of authenticity,
however it is well documented in design history. I take full responsibility for any authenticity



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