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THE SOFITEL COMMISIONAccor, the parent company of Hotel Sofitel, has commissioned Chicago artist David Gista to create 274 paintings for their newest downtown Chicago location scheduled to open this June 2002. Gista, formerly from Paris developed a concept that engages both the life of the City of Chicago and the "joie de vivre" of Paris.
"It was a challenge," said Gista, "to create almost 300 paintings in four months, but I was able to succeed by using digital technology as a medium of art." With thirty-four original pieces, Gista combined his own photography, painting, and drawing to create a fantasy world that portrays human figures living and evolving in the city.
Gista approached the project with both a surrealistic and humorous perspective. The general concept of the project was to play with the imagery of contemporary life, adding poetry to everyday life topics by transforming reality.
"Using surrealism is allowing your fantasies to take form. It is a metaphor between drama and comedy. As the hotel is a commercial space it required a positive vision that is light and joyful," continued Gista. The images include teens playing volleyball with planets in front of the Eiffel Tower, businessmen summer-salting among the skyscrapers of Chicago, and children swinging over the city.
The commission is divided into two projects. The first project includes 20 original prints with 13 numbered and signed copies. Each of the 26 floors of the hotel will feature 10 paintings displayed in the corridors. The second commission includes 14 original pieces that will be hung in the second and third floor of the hotel’s atrium lobby.
"Using digital technology is a completely different way to work with classical painting." said Gista, who was trained at the Beaux Arts in Paris. "For the project I did one hundred original drawings and fifty digital photographs. Then I made my own "cuisine" using computer technology."
Since 1995, the internationally renowned gallery owner, Darthea Speyer, who also works with Chicago artists’ Ed Pashke and Leon Golleb, has represented Gista in Paris, France.
Gista is an emerging artist in the Chicago art scene. He was one of twelve artists recently featured in the City of Chicago’s Artist Month. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Artists Coalition, and teaches at the Suburban Fine Arts Center and at the Evanston Arts Center.