A contemporary realist painter exploring the open-ended narrative; Steven Volpe lives and works from his home and studio in Orangeville, Ontario. His work reminds me that online pictures of paintings have the power to get through to me in an important way … not just mere photos somehow inferior to the original painting, and not better either of course. … It’s important to have original works of art on our wall, to live with, to come home to.
Many times we catch a glimpse—of someone or something “across a crowded room”—that, for an instant, stops time. … a moment in which we are disoriented from our previous instant and captured by this one, only to lose the sense, wishing we could grasp and hold it, but cannot, as the instant passes. Steven’s work captures those moments utterly; the sense of them, the subtle beauty and attraction of them, lets us hold them in our gaze as long as we wish to explore why and how we are so captivated. What could be the message for us?
Donato’s Introduction of Steven Volpe:
Slideshow here
His website: stevenvolpe.ca
Some of the text from Steven Volpe’s website:
Steve was born in Mississauga, Ontario in 1966. He is a contemporary realist painter whose home and studio are located in Orangeville, Ontario.
“My figural compositions are derived from photographic fragments of mundane narratives observed in everyday encounters, and I like to reconstruct these fragments in such a way as to make an image that transcends the sum of its parts.
“To me, an effective composition evokes a sense of mystery or tension, irony or drama; it suggests something more profound than is revealed by dissecting its pedestrian origins or simply unraveling the story. The narrative is a vehicle through which I explore allegorical or metaphorical ideas. These ideas, partially established at the outset, are routinely transformed when the collaboration between intellect and intuition is subverted by the demands of the painting itself. The end result, if it is successful, is something that eludes a one-dimensional interpretation.
“Some of my most recent work explores the psychological influences that I encounter during the painting process: In “Self Portrait with Accomplices”, my alter egos participate in an artist-and-model narrative that illustrates this tension between guidance and hindrance – and silencing the inner critic that we all deal with at times.”
filed under Artist Bios - Canvassing the Artists, Featured.
