Paintings within a painting part of Sahara West exhibit

Step into The Studio at the Sahara West Library for a glimpse into the mind of artist Eyob Mergia. His exhibit, "The Philosophy of Form and Color," is on display there through April 2. It contains more than 70 paintings and represents the last seven years of his work.

"I spend my time — like, 10 hours a day for the last 23 years straight — painting most of the time," he said.

Mergia often works in multiple panels that borrow from Cubism, Abstract Expressionism and the emotional realism of the Baroque period. One of the works, after which the exhibit is named, consists of 12 panels stacked high. Look closely, as two of them were used as the palettes on which he mixed the paint to achieve the proper colors.

For another painting, "Wisdom of Axum," Mergia used panels of differing sizes to add to the allure. One piece on display toward the back is not a painting but a drawing in black and white. Named "Genesis," it is 28 feet long and, aptly, takes one from the Big Bang beginning of the universe through to the final day.

Darren Johnson, gallery services coordinator at The Studio, said Mergia approached the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District about displaying his artwork in the district's branches' galleries in 2014.

"Because of the quality of his paintings, the breadth of his experience and the impressive size of his body of work, he was invited to exhibit at The Studio," said Johnson. "Scale is only one obstacle in filling the expansive Studio space. The art must also be dynamic and hold enough weight to not get lost among the towering white walls."

Mergia said his mind is always in creation mode, able to focus on more than one thing at a time. Even when painting, he is working on seven or eight pieces at one time. Sometimes he will finish a painting and then almost immediately paint a new one over top of it. In fact, many of the ones on display at The Studio have other paintings hidden underneath. It's all part of the evolution of his work.

The impetus for one piece, called "Guardian of Truth," came from documenting cellist Shana Tucker, a local musician who performs on the Strip. After painting the first version, he said, "it changed; that's part of the process." It changed so much that the woman in the painting morphed into a stoic man, almost a warrior-type figure.

"The 'Guardian of Truth' is a painting that is inspired by the idea that each one of us is a protector or a guardian of our own truth," he said. "Within our consciousness, there is an inner recognition that when we perceive our truth has been misrepresented, that truth alerts our consciousness. Then we feel the need to speak up or feel guilty. Somehow, whether we know it or not, that truth makes us a guardian of truth and a protector of our environment, our culture, and of other elements of our identity."

Mergia said he used to wake up and start drawing on the wall next to his bed. These days, he heads straight to his canvas and starts painting. Sometimes, he paints in his garage or in one of his extra rooms, and, sometimes, he paints outside.

He said both his conscious and subconscious inspire him.

"Sometimes, there is nothing that inspires me, but I just want to do a painting. Sometimes, I close my eyes, and it's just emotion. I can paint for hours, and this is what it is," he said of the finished piece. "So, I use my subconscious to build paintings. So, it's the freedom — the freedom of consciousness."

His colors are mixed so as to connect each panel to the others in the cluster — odd for a man who dreams in black and white. His closet, he said, is also full of clothes in black and white, sometimes gray. That leaves his mind free to paint in vibrant, rich, chromatic colors.

Mergia said he prefers to work in oil.

"Oil gives colors you can't see in acrylic," he said. "My favorite painting is not mine, but when the people have a favorite, that is mine. But I do not have a favorite. They are all my kids, you know? I have no favorite."

To see more of his work, visit eyobart.com.

— To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.