Crab Nebula
Inspired by publications on nebulae and black holes, Golahny began the "Space" series in 1980. In dozens of paintings she modeled her images on photographs of cosmic exploration in the archives of the Harvard College Observatory. She also painted evocative layerings of an imagined passage through space and time, and fantastic semi-formed creatures. Art historian Alicia Faxon wrote of one of Golahny's paintings of the Crab Nebula, "Golahny's "Crab Nebula" . . . capture[s] the process of creation, a process that takes place both in the creation of the nebula and in the gestation of the painting itself. . . . In comparing "Crab Nebula" to the photographs that inspired the work, it is fascinating to see how much more vivid and complex the artist's interpretation is. The photographs appear static; the painting pulses with energy, embodying an endless universe in creation."