Matthew Grabelsky: Animal Metaphors on Subway Art

A bull-headed figure in a dark suit reads a newspaper while seated on a subway bench.

Matthew Grabelsky pushes the envelope with his amazing oil paintings of what at first may seem like humans going about their day in a busy city.

However, it is upon closer examination we see that these human faces have been replaced with an animal head. Grabelsky has created a world of his very own, imagining what it would be like if we were to live in a society of half-human and half-animal beings. This society that he has created is given stunning detailing with his crafted hand. These stunning oil paintings are truly life-like, with beautiful coloring and texturing that is barely recognizable from a fantasy or reality. Grabelsky doesn’t often use the same animal head, and consistently changes up the look of each piece.

A monkey-headed figure in a suit eats a banana while seated on an orange subway bench.

The most intriguing part about each individual piece is that Grabelsky gives each creature a personality based on their specific animal’s persona, such as small kittens with Hello Kitty tracksuits, or a horse dressed in Western attire. Grabelsky seems to play on the idea of a parent and child relationship, consistently showing a child traveling with their parent. Whether it be a bay koala riding on its mother’s back waiting on the subway, or a baby hippo being held by her father while it takes a ride on the subway, it is very apparent that Grabelsky’s work gravitates towards these scenes with this intimate yet most relatable relationship. His work is based on a reference photograph, in which he adds on his animal head when he paints the final product. The stunning resemblance between the photo of the model and what he puts to canvas shows the truly iconic craftsmanship of Matthew Grabelsky

A panda-headed figure wearing a leather jacket holds a leafy stalk while seated in a subway.

A frog-headed figure in a pale jacket holds a bouquet of red roses on a subway bench.

An otter-headed figure wearing a blue shirt and gray jacket sits with hands folded on a subway.

A fox-headed figure sits beside a red-haired woman holding a smartphone on an orange subway bench.

Two dog-headed figures in dark clothing sit side by side on an orange subway bench.

INFORMATION

Images with courtesy of Matthew Grabelsky

https://grabelsky.com

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