You need to take a closer look at the art work of Surrealist Artist Rigo Peralta to see the energy of his paintings. Peralta's new exhibition, "Más allá de la existencia" ("Beyond The Existence"), features exotic colors and vivid persona.

An opening reception for the exhibit is 5 - 10 p.m. Feb. 14, Valentine's Day, at Peralta's studio gallery, 1131 Linden St., Allentown. His studio gallery opened in October 2013. Peralta's former studio was at the Banana Factory, Bethlehem.

The exhibition is free and open to the public.

The artist explains that his new collection explores the "existential elements of being human, and in some way to elevate the conscious, and in the process to discover what's in the subconscious."

Peralta was commissioned to do a painting by the late philanthropist Marlene "Linny" Fowler. The commissioned work, "Dancing Through The Metal" (60 x 108 inches, mixed media on linen) is on permanent display in the Fowler Blast Furnace Room, ArtsQuest Center, SteelStacks, Bethlehem. Peralta's work is also in the Lehigh University Art Collection.

What started his philosophical train of thought was a painting he was working on, which has the same title as the exhibition, "Beyond The Existence." A woman stares at a statue in the painting as she radiates aqua blue colors from within. She is coded in an array of color patterns. The aqua blue rays around her head give a reflection like that of the Statue of Liberty.

After a brief moment of contemplative silence about that painting, Peralta bursts out with a response, saying what drove him to create this collection was "an infatuation of the reality with the fantastic."

According to Peralta's web site statement about his art: "Each painting is infused with human, mystical and mechanical aspects of our lives."

Without a doubt his latest exhibition, a collection featuring 10 paintings, gives viewers a magical realism depiction of humanity's mechanical environment with a touch of mysticism. The collection ignites multiple levels of thoughts.

On the one hand, Peralta's new work invites viewers to explore how humanity has become mechanical in its environment. The artist seems to explore through his art the question: How do we decipher the human aspect from the motorized construct in an industrial society?

Peralta points out the use of an exhaust system in his paintings serves as a symbol for humanity to decompress from the pressures in life. "We need a release valve to escape the tensions," he says. "There is too much pressure. We need to find a way to release it."

The painting demonstrates Peralta's skill in color tone selection of orange and purple to bring about the shadows and shades. The artist's brushstrokes provide tones of shades that light up the canvas.

On the other hand, Peralta's collection demonstrates a subconscious level within the core of this motorized reality. The mystical is discovered in the silhouette of each human portrait. Peralta's collection, "Beyond The Existence," extracts the essence of humanity amidst the mechanical composition.

The human aspect is more than a motorized construct that surrounds it. In the mystical essences of the subconscious, the energy of humanity fills Peralta's canvas. This mystic energy amidst the fantastic is Peralta's gift across each work of art.

Peralta's artistic conception leads us to discover the mystical beauty inside and outside of the body. The artist leaves to the imagination the potential mystical energy found in humanity.

Included in the art collection are portraits, a bull and an abstract work. "Beyond The Existence" is a collection of mystic beauty to discover.

Picture 022 is a portrait of "Beyond The Existence."