Gallery Nine5 presents an exhibition by Luca Bray, Nacio Alli/He Was Born There.

Luca Bray is a profoundly introspective artist. His muted color palette, diffusion of the picture plane, and juxtaposition of meditative atmospheres with underlying energy imbue each work with a sophistication and clarity of expression. Bray’s poignant canvases evoke a strong sense of nostalgia—the intangibility of line; intermittent, fragmentary sentences; and nebulous forms all hint that the artist is searching for a hidden meaning, just beyond our grasp.

The lyricism of his works derives from the delicate interplay of expanses of color, paint spatters and smears, imprints from antique Indian stamps, and sporadic fragments of dancing charcoal scrawls. Transparent and opaque fields provide a dynamic counterpoint to the rhythmic placement of paint.

Before finishing each work, Bray floods a corner in his studio allowing the painted canvases to become partially or fully submerged in water. The resulting fluid and amorphous areas of color lend a graceful spontaneity to the works.

Born in Italy, Bray attended the Fine Arts Academy of Brera in Milan where he graduated with First Class Honors and the Painting Prize. In Italy, Bray participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions before re-locating to Mexico, where he currently lives and works.

Bray’s work is housed in numerous public collections, including the Jumex Collection, Mexico City; the Antiguo Palacio del Azobispado Museum, Mexico City; Sinaloa Modern Art Museum; the Daniel Chappard Foundation, Venezuela; the Morelia Contemporary Art Museum, Mexico; Amparo Museum, Mexico; and the Bancomer Cultural foundation, Mexico.

His work is held in private collections in France, Italy, Spain, San Salvador, Venezuela, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Dubai, Canada, New York, Washington, and Chicago.