Last Rites Gallery is pleased to present Spiritus Vitae, a solo exhibition of paintings by Boris Vallejo. Vallejo is widely considered by many to be America’s premier fantasy artist. His 60 years of experience as an illustrator and his reputation in the field of fantasy and science fiction illustration speaks for itself and his illustrations of Tarzan, Conan the Barbarian, Doc Savage and many other fantasy characters are known and loved around the world. In addition, Vallejo has also done movie poster illustration, advertisement and artwork for collectibles, trading cards, and sculpture.

In this exhibition, Spiritus Vitae, Vallejo presents his own unique, personal creative vision to the public: one that features and colorful, vibrant scenes of feminine mythology. The dynamic compositions created expressly for this exhibition show a wide emotional and narrative range and a soft, feminine use of color and form.

In Flower Touch, he depicts a dramatically lit female figure seated, encased in a flower, embracing herself in a manner that simultaneously suggests intimacy and defensiveness. One of her lower legs extends outward, toes pointed. The other is encased in the bed of the flower itself. Both female and flower are feminine motifs and they are unified here, fusing into one whole, as the muscular forms of her figure blend into the botanical forms of the flower.

Playful fantasy themes are another aspect of Vallejo’s work for this exhibition and the piece Soap Bubble depicts exactly that. We see a muscular, butterfly-winged fairy seated on a flower, blowing aqua colored soap bubbles toward the sky. The mood is light and fun, and evocative of the Golden Age of Illustration dating back to Maxfield Parrish.

“Spiritus Vitae” will be on view at Last Rites Gallery, 325 W 38th Street #1, New York, NY 10018 from October 6th – 21st, 2017. An opening reception will be held on Friday, October 6th, at 7pm. For inquiries or to request a VIP collector preview of the exhibition please email info@lastritesgallery.com.