Solastalgia – Gillian Alise Pokalo and Tereza Kocian
Solastalgia (/ˌsɒləˈstældʒə/) is a form of emotional or existential distress caused by negatively perceived environmental change. A distinction can be made between solastalgia as the lived experience of negatively perceived change in the present, and eco-anxiety linked to worry or concern about what may happen in the future.
In this exhibition of Tereza Kocian and Gillian Alise Pokalo, the artists explore this concept through this series of works. The show will be open from 20:00-22:00 Friday 30.1, and from 13:00-17:00 Saturday and Sunday, 31.1 and 1.2.
All are welcome to come and see these works created in dialogue over the past several months.
About the artists
Tereza Kocian (b. 1989) is a visual and mixed media artist from the Czech Republic, based in Akureyri, Iceland. She was trained in textile art and graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, the Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, and the School of Visual Arts in Akureyri. Landscape is the central focus of her work. Drawing inspiration from the places she encounters, she explores how environments shape emotional experience, memory, and a sense of belonging. Living as a foreigner in a vast and often isolating country informs her sensitivity to distance and connection, which she translates into dreamlike, imaginary worlds where reality and imagination merge. Through vivid color, graphic forms, and layered surfaces, her paintings and textile works create immersive spaces that reflect the relationship between humanity and nature, and the fleeting beauty of the landscapes that surround us.
Gillian’s work has been inspired by Iceland’s landscapes and emotive skyscapes ever since her first visit in 2014. What then transpired was a natural acceleration towards the life she now lives here in Akureyri as both an art educator and visual artist: her first trip turned into multiple travel opportunities, followed by artist residencies, teaching workshops, painting murals, and finally leading her to make her home in Akureyri with her husband and his sons.
Before moving to Iceland, Gillian maintained an active art career in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA where she was a regularly featured gallery artist, and she was a member of multiple local art organizations. She is a member of the Professional Artist Network for Speedball, Incorporated,
which is a producer of screen printing supplies in the US. Since graduating Moore College of Art & Design in 2005, her work has been in multiple public and private collections in both the USA and Iceland, including 20th Century Fox, Duus Museum in Keflavik, the township of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania and much more.
Please visit her website for a more complete picture of her extensive career.
