Salvador Dali protégé to display unique artwork in Tarpon Springs

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. - St. Petersburg artist Louis Markoya, who is showing his work at the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, hopes to his viewers leave with a different perspective than when they entered the museum.

"The biggest aspiration for an artist is to leave your viewer more intelligent after viewing your art," shared Markoya.

The exhibit "Louis Markoya: A Deeper Understanding" is on display at the museum at St. Petersburg College in Tarpon Springs.

Markoya’s unique artistic style takes the viewer on a colorful and insightful exploration of depth and scale in a way they may not be prepared for. 

"Depth is something we're all used to," explained Markoya. "Depth in art is not something we're used to."

He creates intensely colorful and imaginative 3-D artwork.

"Most of the 3-D images here started out as an oil painting," he explained. "When I finish the oil painting, I photograph it in high resolution, and I separate elements out of it in layers in photoshop."

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The resulting work makes the viewer pause as they try to grasp the complexity of the images while absorbing the content seen and suggested.

"I've always been interested in human capacity for thought and human capacity for capabilities," commented Markoya. "The nice thing I found out about the 3-D of these is that they invoke the idea of what you are trying to convey."

His work gives a nod to his inspiration Salvador Dalí. Markoya worked for five years with the Spanish visionary, and the impact is evident in this exhibit in the subtle use of similar shapes and ideas to outright attribution to his one-time mentor.

Still, his focus is the viewer coming in to see the work for the first time. 

"I try to make something pretty enough for someone to stop and look at it," admitted Markoy. "In developing the whole show, I wanted to give to the viewer something special."

The museum is located at 600 E Klosterman Road, Tarpon Springs. The exhibit is on display now through February 6, with the artist in attendance to answer questions each Saturday.

LINK: For more information visit https://leeparattner.org/exhibition/louis-markoya/.