The Magical World of Roman Golla is a visual celebration of the paintings and drawings of one Polish immigrant to America, making present an Outsider artist’s story of innate creativity, visionary passion, loss, and rediscovery. This special event will include a talk about the artist by Robert Nowalk.

Curator Robert Nowalk teaches at Culver Academies, a college preparatory boarding school in Culver Indiana. Since 2001, has been working with the Academy's Art Collection and Galleries to connect the process of learning with works of art.   Nowalk has tried to raise awareness of the importance of Outsider Artists. His commitment to celebrating the root of creative wonder is realized with the Roman Golla exhibition at the Irma Freeman Center for Imagination.

Roman Golla was born in the mountains of southern Poland in 1917 in an environment defined by horse drawn sleighs, gypsy caravans and deep winter snows. Captured in a Nazi round up during World War II, Roman spent years in a slave labor camp in occupied France.  After liberation in 1945, Roman found Russian occupied Poland stifling. In 1951, he seized the opportunity to immigrate to America, and found passage to Chicago, Illinois, where the Polish-speaking community helped find him employment and a place to live.  An avid chess-player, Roman merited positions in the US Open Chess Tournament in 1953, 1961, 1963 and 1968. Roman never married. He remained employed until retirement, and lived contentedly in an apartment in the Avondale neighborhood of Chicago. By any measure of human wisdom, considering his past, one might say Roman had a good and satisfying life. Amazingly, though, in 1964, Roman Golla decided he was an artist.

Initially working with wire, wood, and paint, Roman quickly gravitated toward prepared canvas and oil paint. He recalled memories, myths and imaginations, painting  with a folkloric simplicity and sense of wonder. A one-person exhibition at Humanitas Gallery in 1978 earned Roman some renown  when Chicago Sun Times Art Critic Harold Hayden gave his paintings a positive review. Though  paintings were sold,  for some unknown reason, Roman never exhibited again. He died alone, surrounded by over 90 paintings, in December of 2001. Without a direct heir, the City of Chicago saw to his burial and removed the contents of his apartment, eventually giving his personal effects to a distant relative who then sold the paintings to a prospective gallery owner. The buyer placed the paintings in storage, and, over twelve years later, with the gallery still unrealized, Roman’s paintings appeared on Craigslist. This is where the story begins anew. 

The Magical World of Roman Golla runs April 1 to May 6, 2022. The FIrst Friday opening is 7 - 10 pm. In addition, there will be an open event from 1-4 pm on Saturday April 2nd with a gallery talk by curator Robert Nowalk. The Irma Freeman Center for Imagination is located at 5006 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh 15224. Gallery hours Saturdays 2 -5 pm (except April 16) & appointment. For group bookings and gallery tours call 412-924-0634 or write info@irmafreeman.org.