Paintings, Brush and Ink, Woodcuts and Stencils
@franktvescio facebook.com/Frank.T.Vescio
The series of work below is the continuation of the vibration series begun between 2005 and 2007. I am now working purely from imagination using bamboo brushes, designing and creating shapes applying Indian ink, coloured and gold pigments mixed with acrylic/wax mediums. Some images may be influenced by calligraphy but my intention is purely formal. There is a strong connection with organic forms found in nature. I have always admired artists such as Miro, Kandinsky, Renne Mackintosh, Art Nouveau as well as from the coloured patterns and designs of the West African fabriques I painted in my earlier works.
These prints, drawings and paintings is the natural evolution of my exploration into abstraction after deciding to finish my representation of the African people of Mali in 2014. Near the end of this period, I was beginning to focus more and more on the patterns and colours of the West African fabrics. The paintings were becoming abstractions and the figure was less recognizable in my compositions. After a moment of reflection and internal conflicts with the horrific terrorists attacks in Paris of November 2015, I decided I had to create artwork that was to express love and peace. As I produced compositions dealing purely with the formal aspect of colour, line and shapes, my work quickly developed into a type of writing, mixing and composing various elements of design in order to create images that hopefully are beautiful. I believe that society and my role as an artist is to show and spread beauty to contrast from the deeply disturbing visuals we are bombarded with in the media today.
