The night time sets a mood, as we have observed, the
mood of the moment.
These evocative works depict a city terrain
in the process of undergoing entropy, death, and transformation with
an anticipation of rebirth in the morning hours.
Just as the night time sets a mood, as we have observed,
the snowfall descends and transforms the composition into another
mood. The city terrain in this series now blasts into a whiteout.
Behind the Scenes
Though Vincent D'Alessio's lack of formal
training is apparent, this seems to matter little. His love of his
subject is obvious.
It bears mentioning that he had a deep
love of nature long before he had any interest in art.
His desire to paint is best expressed
by him: "Though loving to look at nature, to smell it, to breath
it, it's not enough.
Landscapes / Nightscapes
When Vincent D'Alessio began to paint, it was a revelation
as much as it was a struggle. He had no idea or plan to paint. In
any case, he was persistent in his efforts.
He was simply an art lover and was educating himself
by reading art books, as well as by seeing all of the art that was
possible.
A Street Painter colleague of his, a well-known New
York artist, who paints mostly at night urged him to go outdoors painting
with him.
During night time they painted the Brooklyn
Bridge and a new career began.
D'Alessio's interest in art was not in any way apparent.
As time passed, he began visiting museums. For the first time discovered
a connection with his artistic sensibilities.
So then he frequented museums daily, closely studying
paintings. Progressively his appetite for the creative impulse became
insatiable. He found that in visiting galleries and museums, these
activities provided deep study.
Evanescent Impressions
Vincent D'Alessio has a greater willingness to take
risks or to reach out to capture evanescent impressions.
As a result we can look at the paintings, with a close
study of their brush work, on their own terms with fewer preconceptions
about artistic genius and what it means to peer into the depths of
the human soul.
His brushwork is far more memorable and poignant and
presents a most dramatic new discovery.
D'Alessio's paintings bring out the iconoclastic side
of his talent. They pose questions about the shadowy qualities of
truth and identity at many levels, that seems to cut through surface
appearances and penetrate to something deeper, that seems to probe
into the essence of human nature.
Emotional experiences are fugitive things,
violent or delicate, and of many orders. Emotion is important because
it is the one thing that everyone has an abundance of.
But by painting what I see and feel,
by trying to capture the mood of the moment, I feel that I am marrying
the subject that I love so much.
The Street Painters
Vincent D'Alessio became acquainted with several artist
friends who banded together to create a new kind of landscape. These
New York artists called themselves "The
Street Painters".
These artists and scholars were largely influenced
by the Ashcan School, and most of whom had been painting for thirty
to forty years or more. D'Alessio's early work was highly influenced
by the Barbizon painters and Impressionists, especially Monet and
Sisley, and Van Gogh.
There are elements in his work from the
Barbizon school, Post-Impressionism, the Ashcan school, as well as,
Neo-Expressionism. However, DiAlessio's art works and paintings remain
difficult to classify and they clearly are not affiliated with any
single school. These art works illustrate the full range of his treatment
of related imagery and demonstrates the elegance and innovative brilliance
of his paintings.
The Process of Painting
Vincent D'Alessio has exhibited his paintings
in many shows over the years, including several at the Broome Street
Gallery in SoHo, the Lever Building, and at the Cork Gallery at Lincoln
Center.
Brooklyn Bridge, Nocturnal Reflections
© Vincent D'Alessio
Oil on Canvas
