Once Upon a Time, 2023

Igor Galan  

In Once Upon a Time, Igor Galan fuses idyllic beachside imagery with apocalyptic dread, creating a powerful visual contradiction that questions our collective oblivion. This monumental oil painting (150 × 110 cm) shows five smiling vacationers posing casually on the sand. They embody summer leisure, frozen in cheerful stances, while behind them, an enormous fireball – resembling a nuclear explosion – dominates the sky. The contrast is both jarring and deeply symbolic.

Originally based on one of Galan's earlier, sunnier paintings, this reworked version strips the illusion of eternal peace and injects a grim prophetic twist. The artist exposes the fragility of modern comfort and the absurdity of joy divorced from awareness. The palette, once warm and inviting, now crackles with tension – vivid reds and oranges explode into a background of deep blue, like a sunset collapsing into catastrophe. With painterly finesse and conceptual precision, Galan delivers a haunting reflection on denial, environmental destruction, and human hubris. This work is a museum-quality statement piece that commands conversation.