In works that blend magic realism with abstraction, Deda invites viewers into layered worlds where trees watch silently, myths flicker, and nothing is ever quite as it seems
Looking at a painting by Greg Deda doesn’t quite feel like looking. It feels more like slipping — into a mood, a memory, maybe someone else’s dream. The Canadian artist doesn’t push a narrative; instead, he lays out an atmosphere, sets the lighting just right, then leaves the door slightly ajar. Whether he’s working in magic realism or plunging headlong into abstraction, his works ask more than they explain.
Women recur throughout his paintings — anonymous and theatrical, often surreal. In Demoiselles du centre ville, they move through what might be a bar, though it’s blurred at the edges — their eyes covered, their bodies paused mid-motion. Trees lean in as though eavesdropping. The scene carries a hush, like the silence after music has stopped. Is it fantasy, sadism, or something erotically charged? The viewer is left to decide — Deda offers no resolution.
Belmar Cafe, New Jersey, 2023
Image courtesy of the artist and Chelsea Fine Art
My journey in painting has unfolded through a preliminary and layered application process, dedicated to detail and technicality: from composition, figures, and portraits to the nuances of colour, tone, medium, texture, and beyond
Greg Deda
This is Deda’s world: layered, off-kilter, and never literal. In some works, trees appear again and again — not as decoration, but as characters. I suspect they are witnesses, quietly observing the strange little dramas as they unfold.
When he moves into abstraction, the tone shifts. Gone is the quiet ritual — now the canvas crackles. Paint is flung. Strokes are slashed. There’s no interest in control, and certainly no apology. The surface becomes a kind of weather — unpredictable, at times even violent.
Deda’s path to this language wasn’t straightforward. Born in Eastern Europe, he found himself in post-Wall Germany, studying at the Kunstschule just as the country — and its art — was reassembling itself. Artists like Richter and Immendorff weren’t just names in textbooks; they were around, and watching. Their influence wasn’t in style, but in permission: to unlearn, to risk, to get it wrong and keep going.
What makes Deda’s work resonate is his ability to carry classical training without being held hostage by it. He still speaks the old language — Botticelli, Michelangelo, Mantegna — but he speaks it with a different rhythm now, one shaped by concrete, fog, and the eerie glow of modernity. You’ll see myths in his work, but they don’t feel ancient. They feel reawakened — shifting between surrealist delirium and the warm logic of architecture.
His paintings don’t behave like answers. They behave like questions you’re not meant to solve. Fresco meets abstraction. Architecture collapses into dream. The past surfaces, but only for a second — before vanishing again into mist.
You could call it magic realism, but that doesn’t quite hold it. Deda isn’t so much blurring myth and modernity as stitching them together, edge to edge — then tearing them slightly at the seams so the light gets in.
Deda’s latest exhibition, Vision & Value, opens at Chelsea Fine Art Gallery, showcasing his newest body of work. Known for his distinctive approach to Magic Realism, Deda has quietly built a loyal following, with pieces now held in private collections across the globe. We caught up with the artist to delve into the ideas behind his work – and what continues to draw people to his uniquely imaginative world.
Greg Deda: Vision & Value Opens on the 14th May, 2025 at Chelsea Fine Art Gallery, The Other House South Kensington
You’ve often spoken of your early fascination with Renaissance art. How did encountering artworks such as frescos of Michelangelo, Botticelli and Mantegna in Italy transform your understanding of form and storytelling in painting?
Greg Deda: Michelangelo, Botticelli, and Mantegna were not only prominent and significant artists of the Renaissance — they were true maestros. Their masterful creations, from frescoes to paintings and sculptures, remain unparalleled. Their immense technical skill and extraordinary gift for storytelling are truly one of a kind.
My encounters with their works have always involved deep, multi-angled analysis, particularly through the embedded layers of symbolism that allow their art to speak across time and culture. What struck me most was examining their preliminary drawings and how they constructed figures and portraits within their paintings. If you look closely, you can often glimpse the underlying stages of their process, subtly painted beneath the pellicola. For example, when transferring their drawings, Botticelli would often use rouge anglais or terra di Siena, leaving behind delicate incisions that are still visible on the canvas today.
The forms and shapes of their portraits initially suggest simplicity, but upon deeper, intuitive observation, one begins to uncover the complexity of their techniques — the transparent, multi-layered application of pigment colours and the thoughtful selection of tonal palettes.
Another element that continually astounds me is their ability to connect the sky with architecture and nature, seamlessly merging the edges of trees into the sky, creating an overall harmony that unifies the composition.
Ultimately, each of these masters developed a unique and extraordinary technique, perspective, and language of storytelling, merging the human and the divine through their profound use of symbolism. By studying and retaining these classical techniques — and reflecting on the cultural and symbolic weight of these iconic works — I have translated these influences into my contemporary art practices over the years.
My journey in painting has unfolded through a preliminary and layered application process, dedicated to detail and technicality: from composition, figures, and portraits to the nuances of colour, tone, medium, texture, and beyond.
(Part of the magic realism series)
Image courtesy of the artist and Chelsea Fine Art
When you look back on your time in Kunst Schule in Germany — meeting artists such as Gerhard Richter and Jörg Immendorf — how did that environment challenge or evolve your aesthetic approach?
Greg Deda: I would say the post- Berlin wall era of art transformed and yet evolved my artistic approach through not only the implementation of modernity but most importantly creative expression aesthetically. Exploring with a blend of bold colours and textures, mixed medium and the merging of technical skill.
Image courtesy of the artist and Chelsea Fine Art
Your body of work spans magic realism, abstract and semi- abstract styles. How do you move between these visual languages, and what does each one allow you to express that the other cannot?
Greg Deda: My Magic Realism and Abstract collections each possess their own unique visual language — both for myself and for the viewer. Magic Realism is one of my earliest passions and bodies of work, allowing me to explore narrative and symbolism in a richly imaginative way. However, it was through my Abstract collections that I discovered new modes of expression.
Within abstraction, there is a broad emotional range: my abstract expressionist works are striking and vibrant — much like heavy metal music — while my more minimal, semi-abstract pieces offer a sense of calm and introspection. My aim is always to leave space for personal interpretation, inviting viewers, collectors, and art admirers to find their own meaning within the work.
Ultimately, these two collections reflect different stages of my artistic journey — each marking a distinct chapter in my evolution over the years.
Themes like ‘altering societies’ and ‘illusion’ appear frequently in your work. Are you consciously responding to contemporary cultural anxieties, or do these themes emerge more intuitively?
Greg Deda: The themes of altering societies and illusion emerge intuitively in my paintings, yet they are deeply connected to wider cultural and societal movements and moments. Through my work, I reflect on how realities shift, evolve, and sometimes deceive — drawing parallels between personal intuition and collective experience.
Image courtesy of the artist and Chelsea Fine Art
Water, trees, trains, bridges — your recurring motifs feel like thresholds between the seen and unseen. Are they symbols of transition, memory, or something else entirely?
Greg Deda: The elements in my paintings represent the concept of time — constantly changing, moving, and evolving. Each motif carries its own symbolism and visual language. Water and bridges, for instance, signify isolation — the separation of one world from a surreal one. In one of my compositions, The New Beginning (2021), a bridge divides a distant, bustling city from a dreamlike, surreal reality.
Trains symbolise hope, the future, civilisation, beauty, good news, and freedom, while cars, by contrast, evoke the past — something abandoned or left behind.
Trees represent individuals; they are observers within the painting. They hold the same presence and emotional weight as the human figures, quietly witnessing the unfolding scenes.
There is a strong dreamlike and ambiguous energy in your compositions. How do you view the role of ambiguity in visual storytelling — particularly in a world hungry for clarity and certainty?
Greg Deda: Ambiguity plays a crucial role in my visual storytelling. In a world increasingly hungry for clarity and certainty, I believe ambiguity invites reflection, imagination, and personal engagement. It creates space for viewers to project their own emotions, memories, and interpretations onto the work, making the experience deeply individual.
I don’t aim to dictate meaning; instead, I offer a visual language that can be read in multiple ways, much like dreams themselves. Ambiguity, to me, isn’t about confusion — it’s about freedom. It challenges us to sit with uncertainty, to explore complexity, and perhaps even to find beauty in not having all the answers.
Image courtesy of the artist and Chelsea Fine Art
Roman mythology is an unusual influence in contemporary painting. What draws you to these ancient narratives, and how do you weave them into modern or abstract contexts?
Greg Deda: Mythology plays a big role in art history, withholding immense symbolization. In some of my magical realism paintings I have incorporated sculptures representing spring, rebirth of nature, or pan.
You have also worked as a set designer. How has staging and theatricality informed the way you construct your canvases? Are your scenes meant to be entered like a stage or experienced like a memory?
Greg Deda: The choice to incorporate architecture into my work stems from a deep adoration of architectural form. With my background as a set designer, my early career centered on building environments — crafting an ambiance and, ultimately, an experience that could break the fourth wall in theatre. In my paintings, architecture symbolizes history, time, and space. It becomes a portal, allowing viewers to immerse themselves in a new world and culturally enrich their surroundings.
I use architecture to envision a futuristic world, creating my own imagined structures based on what I feel and perceive. I am particularly drawn to the contrast between old and new architecture, using this dialogue to represent the passage of time and to separate two realms: one rooted in reality, the other in the surreal and magic.
Much of your abstract work feels like a dialogue with the subconscious. What is your relationship with dreams, and do they play a role in your creative process?
Greg Deda: My work is a mélange of both the conscious and the subconscious, often flourishing from the world of my dreams. I believe our dreams hold profound sentiment and power, offering glimpses into hidden emotions and truths. Translating those intangible visions into art is a challenge, but it becomes immensely rewarding once they materialize on the canvas.
Image courtesy of the artist and Chelsea Fine Art
When you begin a piece, are you led by a visual image, a philosophical idea, a sound — or something else entirely?
Greg Deda: The brainstorming process when starting a piece usually involves my dreams, my surroundings, anything that captures my attention and interest. I let my vision come to fruition by starting my storytelling. As I gradually add and layer onto my paintings more ideas and visions can arise and I implement them. It’s a process that is unique depending not only on the collection of work for example magic realism vs abstract but particular to the specific painting. Each painting has a different ambiance, colour tone, feeling, expression.
What do you hope remains in the mind — or the body — of a viewer long after they’ve stood before one of your paintings?
Greg Deda: My main hope is that viewers sense the theatrical humour — perhaps even the occasional touch of sarcasm, but above all, that they feel the positive energy radiating from the work. I want them to simply enjoy the piece.
Each painting is created with passion and serves as an open invitation to individuals from all walks of life, welcoming diverse perspectives. When viewers engage with my work, they step into a kind of metaphysical, artistic scenery, a world where something magical and intangible begins to stir.
They might find themselves connecting with the details: the clothing, nudity, colours and tones, the texture of objects like trees, buildings, cobbled streets, or dimly glowing light poles, all resonating with a warm, almost dreamlike energy that invites reflection and ease.
©2025 Greg Deda
Len is a curator and a contributing writer at Art Plugged, a platform for contemporary art; he also engages in web development, design, and marketing.
