"Selected Works: Five Decades" is our current exhibition of drawings, paintings and constructions by Michigan artist Joe De Luca. The show is up until October 31, 2007, with an artist reception on Thursday, October 18 from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. This is by far the largest show we've installed with upwards of 75 pieces, many very large.
Joe's work can be found in numerous public and private collections. A professor of Art at Western Michigan University for thirty years, he has consistently exhibited in solo and group shows, garnering numerous awards and reviews in national publications.
Artist Statment:
My work is a microcosm of the landscape and deals with my emotional and intuitive responses to my environment. I am fascinated by textured, weathered and time-worn objects and surfaces. The effects considered are those of light, atmosphere and shadow.
Extended travels to Europe, and especially Italy and Portugal, have resulted in important motivational sources in my painting. Italy is a place to better understand my heritage and an environment in which to seek and study high art and architectural treasures. The Etruscan civilization became a significant resource during the early 80's. In recent years, my interest shifted to Portugal, as it seemed a natural extension of my interests in antiquity. This, the oldest country of Europe, offers a powerful, rough presence and unpretentious charm.
I presently work on large-scale canvases and include such materials as tar, cardboard, metal, wood and found objects. The works, if successful, give the appearance of ruined sections of old walls, excavated from a prior ancient setting. The surfaces often reveal multi-layered, richly developed textural patinas through the utilization and combination of paint, collage, inlay and found materials.
Present images attempt to visually appear to mark a passage of time, as well as to describe the metaphysical nature of things. These considerations seem, at this time, to be reasons to dignify a particular space and maintain the delicate balance that life necessitates and demands.
Take a virtual tour of this retrospective at www.galleryfifty.com. (Photos by Don Rutt)
