Some Art I Liked: Five Minutes on Gioele Amaro
Gioele Amaro: RedonDawn, 2021
(Above: RedonDawn, 2021, Gioele Amaro, ink and varnish on canvas, 64 x 51 in) Click to enlarge.
TL;DR:
Artist Status: Gioele is a mid-career artist with multiple exhibitions in major cities.
Price: His paintings start around $15k and up, depending on size.
Where else can I see his work? He is represented by multiple global galleries, including Almine Rech (New York).
Gioele Amaro was born in 1986 in Reggio Calabria, Italy. He studied architecture at the University of Reggio (Italy) and obtained his masters degree at the National School of Architecture in Paris La Villette (France). He initially pursued a career in architecture, but quickly shifted course to pursue a career as a painter. He now splits his time between Paris and Milan.
His Style
The artist employs both digital and analog methods, as well as combining both painting and photography, to create his works. For the piece above, Gioele began with photographs of a sunrise. He then used a computer to create a digital painting. He printed this ‘painting’ on canvas, and then added several layers of varnish to the canvas until it achieved the final look. (Peek into his high-tech painting studio / factory below)
Gioele’s works play with the way our eyes perceive the world—how surfaces can change dynamically over time or from different angles. In the work above, the illusion from a distance is a textured canvas with layers of paint, but in close review turns out to be a very flat surface.
(Above: The folds of my soul, 2023, Gioele Amaro, ink and varnish on canvas, 40 x 79 in) Click to enlarge.
The visual illusions are front-and-center in Gioele's paintings of metallic surfaces. In the painting above, he crafts a crumpled sheet of foil realistically reflecting bright colors. Below, a more detailed view of this work more clearly demonstrates the abstract nature of the painting, with shards of colorful (digitally created) paint strokes.
Contemporary Context
Capturing realistic illusions with paint is an age-old craft. The French term "Trompe l'oeil" refers to works so lifelike that viewers question their realness. Classical painters, for instance, replicated the texture and look of marble on European castle walls (think of it as the medieval workaround before we had access to quartz).
(Above: TooMonet, 2022, Gioele Amaro, Ink and varnish on canvas, 58 x 38 in) Click to enlarge.
The artist enjoys this clash between past and future, and uses popular artists or themes to trigger that conversation. In the piece above, Gioele modernized Monet’s recognizable brushwork and used software to craft a version of Monet’s water lilies. Is the digital creation any less complicated or beautiful than the original inspiration? Finally, does the embrace of technology in creating a work of art make it any less desirable or valuable?
Impact
Gioele has shown work in solo and group exhibitions in Milan, Beijing, Paris, and other major cities. He has also worked with multiple corporations, including a global branding campaign this past summer with luxury brand Valentino (see the impressive billboard campaign above).
(Above: Maison Valentino Marketing Campaign at Avenue de L’Opéra, 2023, Gioele Amaro) Click to enlarge.
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