Nam’s paintings in Terrible Lizards present a variety of ancient, monstrous creatures that used to roam the earth two-hundred-thirty million years ago. Through scenic and portraiture gestures, Nam explores the mythical time of these dominant terrestrial vertebrates of its time across the tranquil and apocalyptic landscape, some in motion and others anthropomorphized. The paintings attempt to frolic with time and temperature, playing with colors and textures onto the surfaces, to capture the true essence of these creatures that have long been extinct. Nam’s work is also inspired by his interest in paleontology and the history of the earth. The true image of different kinds of dinosaurs are unknown and how they behaved, although there are skeletal remnants of their sheer size around the world. The content of the work aspires to express its past, as large lizards roaming the earth on ‘Pangea,’ before the ‘Big Bang,’ apocalypse struck.

In addition to the paintings, “Terrible Lizards” features Nam’s unique “Dinosaur Planter-Pots.” These live cat-sized sculptures are intended to care for plants and are designed to support and prominently adorn the plants as an art form. The wheel-thrown and pinched playful manner of the Dino-Pots intends to highlight the unstoppable force of nature that led to the extinction of dinosaurs. Functionally, the Dino-Pots desire to emit optimism to the viewer, of simply caring for plant life, while these ancients are excavated for historical collection and other earthly matters.

Nam’s work also aims to spark humanity’s innate curiosity to investigate how our world works and where we fit within the natural world we see around us. Advancing out of the pandemic, the work desires for one to keep courage and to take on the world like the ancient dinosaurs. The group of works draw inspiration from the works of Bill Waterman, Verne Dawson, Wayne Thiebaud, and Zdenek Burian.

Terrible Lizards is a must-see exhibition for art and dinosaur enthusiasts alike. Don’t miss your chance to experience Richard Nam’s captivating and imaginative take on the ancient, monstrous creatures that once roamed the earth.