Roland Kulla Paintings

A bridge to nowhere has been taking no one there for almost 70 years. The Liesenbrücken bridge has been rusting with iron will and doing little else since it was abandoned in favor o...

I’ve always been attracted to the built environment. Bridges are a great subject. Each one is specially engineered to solve the problem of how to get across the void. While usually n...

For the past dozen years or so I’ve focused on bridge elements by selecting portions of bridge structures and painting segments in a realist style. Previous shows at the Billis Gal...

This painting captures a graffiti and rust covered steel bridge with bright blue skies and a sliver of green trees in and urban architectural setting. Rolland has always been fascinated by the built environment. Reflecting on what the structures tell about their builders as well as their interaction with nature and the results of time. He focuses on the engineering ingenuity that created Chicago’s many bridges. Structural elements are abstracted from their context and painted with a hard-edged realism on a scale that highlights the monumentality of the forms and the creativity necessary for their existence. Shown here is “Eight Track” Roland Kulla 8 Track...

For the past dozen years or so I’ve focused on bridge elements by selecting portions of bridge structures and painting segments in a realist style. Previous shows at the Billis Gal...

For the past dozen years or so I’ve focused on bridge elements by selecting portions of bridge structures and painting segments in a realist style. Previous shows at the Billis Gal...

For the past dozen years or so I’ve focused on bridge elements by selecting portions of bridge structures and painting segments in a realist style. Previous shows at the Billis Gal...

Represented by George Billis Gallery, NYC & LA -- We are creatures of habit. Routines help us organize our lives and provide necessary structure to daily existence. The same holds true in the built environment. The city grid...

Represented by George Billis Gallery, NYC & LA -- For the past dozen years or so I’ve focused on bridge elements by selecting portions of bridge structures and painting segments ...

Represented by George Billis Gallery, NYC & LA -- For the past dozen years or so I’ve focused on bridge elements by selecting portions of bridge structures and painting segments ...

​Represented by George Billis Gallery, NYC & LA -- For the past dozen years or so I’ve focused on bridge elements by selecting portions of bridge structures and painting segments in a realist style. Previous shows at the Billis Gallery have featured New York area bridges using this approach that I call “abstract realism”. This show, New York City Transit, differs in several ways. First, I’ve expanded my focus to include different aspects of transportation in New York City. There are still plenty of bridges, in fact five different views of the Manhattan Bridge. But I’ve added trains to the mix as well as the MTA. A number of the paintings include the interaction of trains and bridges. Pedestrians are given focus too in scenes from the High Line. Second, not only has the subject matter expanded, many of the works provide a more panoramic treatment. There are still some closely cropped subjects that are typical of my previous style. But in several works my view has widened to place the transit elements in their urban context. Third, the transitory aspects of nature are captured as well. The atmospheric effects of sky and water and light and shade create dynamic contrasts to the fixed structures. The bridges in particular leap across the water against dramatic skies. Taken as a whole, New York City Transit takes you from the details to the big picture. It also captures the dynamism of the man-made structures in their dramatic natural context. Roland Kulla September, 2016 Acrylic on canvas, cityscape, painting, New York City, Manhattan, High Line, Hudson Yards

​Represented by George Billis Gallery, NYC & LA -- For the past dozen years or so I’ve focused on bridge elements by selecting portions of bridge structures and painting segments in ...

Represented by George Billis Gallery, NYC & LA -- We are creatures of habit. Routines help us organize our lives and provide necessary structure to daily existence. The same holds true in the built environment. The city grid...