The second grouping of my paintings that Burchfield Penney Curator Tiffany Gaines has put together for LEROI: Living in Color is from my Brazilian Period (late 1990’s-early 2000’s.)
These paintings were a dramatic departure from my Geometric art, not only in style but in size, as I began working on canvases as large as seven feet in height. The subject matter tended to be variations of mountains, oceans, and favelas (poor villages), reminiscent of scenes I recalled from my time in Brazil in the early 1970’s.
While I enjoyed the creative transformation from bold graphics to brightly colored and imaginative people and places, the work took me out of my comfort zone and made me question if this was a style I wanted to continue.
Then, in late 1990, a friend invited me to return to Brazil. While there we visited museums and galleries in both San Paolo and Rio de Janeiro. I always carried with me Xerox copies and polaroids of my work (yes, this was before the world of phone cameras and selfies!)
Whenever I shared those mediocre quality images with representatives of the various museums and galleries, they expressed interest in my art and wanted to know if I had more.
The thing was, I was not concerned with the art world at that time. I just wanted to paint and be sure of my direction.
By the end of my time in Brazil, I’d become passionate about the style of art I discovered there. Even more important was the realization that the paintings I had already created in this new period clearly reflected the culture of this South American Nation. I took that as a sign that my art was moving in the right direction.
Between the large scale of these paintings and the wealth of inspiration Brazil provided, I found myself in need of a process to help me create the volume of artwork I was envisioning. Fortunately, an associated of mine was renovating one of Buffalo’s classic mansions and allowed me use of the 10,000 sq.ft. second floor.
From there I began creating my Brazilian paintings in groups of 25 at a time. It was a massive project that I undertook twice in this time frame. While it was highly successful it ultimately became overwhelming, and eventually I stopped. But during those years, Brazil and its people were the inspiration for my artwork, and I had no doubt it was exactly what I was supposed to be painting.
LEROI: Living in Color Exhibition includes the work of students from Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology (BCAT,) Buffalo Public Schools (BPS,) Just Buffalo Literary Center (JBLC,) and Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center. The exhibition will be on view at the Burchfield Penney Art Center through March 26, 2023, presented by M&T Bank, with additional support from organizations and individuals throughout the Western New York community.