Gallery Naga is pleased to announce DeerBuffet, a solo exhibition of new landscape paintings by Wayland artist, Richard Raiselis. The exhibition runs from January 9 to February 21, 2026, at Gallery Naga, 67 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116. The public is invited to an opening reception on Saturday, January 10, 2026, from 1:00 to 3:00 PM, with artist remarks at 2:00 PM. DeerBuffet is organized in conjunction with a retrospective of works by Richard Raiselis, Landscapes near me, at Boston University Art Galleries that will run from January 20 to March 6, 2026, in recognition of his decades-long contribution to the education of a new generation of painters.

Richard Raiselis’s latest body of work is deeply rooted in the rhythms of the natural world surrounding a house near swampy conservation land. Daily encounters with animal neighbors—deer, crows, hummingbirds, geese, mosquitos, and owls—become central characters in his paintings. Raiselis paints outdoors in all seasons, embracing the unpredictability of weather and wildlife. “These furry and feathered residents contribute to my painting practice as much as the weather and seasons,” Raiselis notes, anticipating their visits as naturally as the sunrise and sunset. The subject matter is both intimate and universal: deer grazing on arborvitae trees, birds strategizing overhead, and the subtle drama of shifting flora. Raiselis’s paintings capture these moments with a keen observational eye, transforming everyday encounters into poetic visual narratives.

Raiselis’s approach to plein-air painting is marked by a sensitivity to change and detail. “Landscape painters who work for more than one day on a picture know that today’s conditions will not be quite like yesterday’s, nor tomorrow’s,” he observes. This acceptance of flux is reflected in his compositions, where light, shadow, and form are rendered with precision yet remain open to the effects of time and memory. His technique balances fine detail—such as the texture of deer-nibbled foliage or the fleeting presence of a hummingbird—with broader reflections on perception. “Each day, I am reminded that perception is binary: physical and psychological, facts plus feelings. Measuring is qualitative and quantitative. Looking implies proportioning and naming — but also thinking, remembering, associating, imagining, and wishing,” Raiselis writes. This duality is evident in the paintings, which invite viewers to experience both the tangible and the imagined aspects of the landscape.

For Raiselis, landscape painting is more than documentation—it is a pathway to connection, insight, and unity. He sees himself as both witness and participant in the “tiny slice of natural history” that unfolds in his yard. The exhibition DeerBuffet offers viewers a chance to engage with this world, to see through the artist’s eyes, and to reflect on the interplay between nature, memory, and artistic process.