George Grie is a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n-Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 artist.

One of the first digital artists, Grie is known for numerous 3D

3D computer graphics

3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...

, 2D

2D computer graphics

2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models and by techniques specific to them...

, and matte painting

Matte painting

A matte painting is a painted representation of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that would otherwise be too expensive or impossible to build or visit. Historically, matte painters and film technicians have used various techniques...

 images. Born in the USSR during the Soviet regime (aka  or Юрий Грибановский) he did not adopt the conventional and politically correct socialist realism

Socialist realism

Socialist realism is a style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other communist countries. Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style having its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism...

 art style.

Style

Grie's artistic style has been heavily influenced by famous surrealists such as Rene Magritte

René Magritte

René François Ghislain Magritte[p] was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well known for a number of witty and thought-provoking images...

 and Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí

Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....

, fantastic realists

Fantastic Realism

Fantastic Realism can refer to:*Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, a 20th century group of artists in Vienna combining techniques of the Old Masters with religious and esoteric symbolism...

 Zdzisław Beksiński and Wojciech Siudmak

Wojciech Siudmak

Wojciech Kazimierz "Wojtek" Siudmak is a Polish painter, currently living in France. His works are often used as illustrations for science fiction and fantasy literature, including the Polish edition of Frank Herbert's Dune series.The French publisher Presses-Pocket used his artwork on the covers...

, and surreal photomanipulation artist Jerry Uelsmann

Jerry Uelsmann

Jerry N. Uelsmann is an American photographer.Uelsmann was born in Detroit, Michigan. When he was in high school, his interest in photography sparked. He originally believed that using a camera could allow him to exist outside of himself, to live in a world captured through the lens...

. His neo-surrealist artwork is a combination of classic surrealist symbolism with modern fantasy

Fantasy art

Fantasy art is a genre of art that depicts magical or other supernatural themes, ideas, creatures or settings. While there is some overlap with science fiction, horror and other speculative fiction art, there are unique elements not generally found in other forms of speculative fiction art...

, gothic

New Gothic Art

-Manifesto:The Neo Gothic Art Manifesto was written by gothic artist Charles Moffat in 2001, who also coined the term "Neo Gothic" in an effort to differentiate it from gothic architecture...

, and visionary art

Visionary art

Visionary art is art that purports to transcend the physical world and portray a wider vision of awareness including spiritual or mystical themes, or is based in such experiences.-Definition:...

 tendencies.

The artist's digital neo-surrealistic artworks are an extraordinary visual record of his conceptual thoughts, philosophic views, fantasies, and dream

Dream

Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious...

s. Often journeying into the subconscious

Subconscious

The term subconscious is used in many different contexts and has no single or precise definition. This greatly limits its significance as a definition-bearing concept, and in consequence the word tends to be avoided in academic and scientific settings....

, Grie's photo-realistic artwork shows a magical, playful, and dream-like world laced with detail. Supernatural

Supernatural

The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...

 illusions, mystic romanticism

Romanticism

Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...

, spiritual magic and gothic overtones are all intertwined in his virtual world. The end result on the viewer’s side is not always comfortable or conventional: there is a great deal of tension and alienation, yet not without an underlying tranquility, in the strange events taking place in the landscape

Landscape

Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...

 of his imagination.

Life and work

George Grie had received a classical art education in various fine arts

Fine art

Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....

 institutions before he started his career as a professional fine art painter and graphic artist. Use of a photo realistic technique giving a firm contrast between the light source and dark tonality, which can be seen in his early paintings, gives his artworks a graphical appearance. Grie's artworks are full of strong and powerful images which rely on a visual impact. They are about capturing visual paradoxes: sometimes they would depict calm and contemplative moments, like solitude or melancholy. There is a stillness in his themes conveying a sense of inner-reflection and self-observation. The artist’s admiration for photography is the reason why Grie has shifted his artistic preferences from traditional fine art towards computer digital art

Digital art

Digital art is a general term for a range of artistic works and practices that use digital technology as an essential part of the creative and/or presentation process...

. His previous experience and classical painting education gave him a complete freedom of both self-expression and self-exploration as an artist.

He became a professional multimedia

Multimedia

Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...

 graphic design

Graphic design

Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...

 artist and joined the IBM Corporation as a lead new-media specialist. Today, his prime interest lies within contemporary 2D & 3D graphic design software, 3D models and their applications. In 2002 he initiated a creation of a popular digital art-related web portal

Web portal

A web portal or links page is a web site that functions as a point of access to information in the World Wide Web. A portal presents information from diverse sources in a unified way....

 - Interartcenter.net

Interartcenter

InterArtCenter social network is a popular online community for international digital and fine art artists. Canadian multimedia artist George Grie initiated it in 2002 as a personal artwork portfolio. InterArtCenter Inc. is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and hosted by Yahoo! Inc....

. George Grie resides with his family in Toronto, Canada.

Exhibitions

• Mistral gallery, London
  London
  London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
  
  
• Artnova gallery, Stockholm
  Stockholm
  Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
  
  
• Cinema House gallery, Saint-Petersburg
• Artson gallery, Helsinki
  Helsinki
  Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
  
  
• Toronto International Art Fair
  Toronto International Art Fair
  Toronto International Art Fair is an international contemporary art exhibition held each year in Toronto, Canada at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The first Toronto International Art Fair was held in 1999. Since its inception, it has grown to become the pre-eminent forum for displaying...
  
   (TIAF)
• Artfocus - Canada's indoor art event Toronto
  Toronto
  Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
  
  
• Pixel Perfect: The Digital Fine Art Exhibition, Agora gallery New York
  New York
  New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
  
  
• Contemporary Art London, New York, Toronto, Art Fair

Work used by recording artists

• Voyager, I am the revolution
• Lalo Huber
  Nexus (argentine band)
  Nexus is a progressive rock band from Argentina. They are known all around the entire world, have performed many shows in different countries and have experienced good sales, reception and reviews of their albums....
  
  , Lost in Kali Yuga
• Winterburst, Winterburst
• Kayak
  Kayak (band)
  Kayak are a Dutch progressive rock band formed in 1972 in the city Hilversum by Ton Scherpenzeel and Pim Koopman. In 1973, their debut album "See See The Sun" was released, including 3 hit singles. Their main popularity was in the Netherlands, with their top hit reaching #6 on the Dutch charts in...
  
  , Letters from Utopia
• Dawn of Destiny
  Dawn of Destiny
  Dawn of Destiny is a German power metal band from Bochum, Germany which incorporates elements of thrash, gothic and death metal. As of 2009, Dawn of Destiny has released three studio albums.-Biography:...
  
  , Rebellion In Heaven
• Sunroad, Flying n’ Floating
• Gianfranco Biagini, Project Morfeo
• Mario Massi, Uncle Myros Flying Circus
• Gert Emmens, A Boy's World
• Winter in Eden, At the end of the world

External links

• Modern Art Neo-Surrealism by George Grie the official website