Published on TriCornerNews (http://www.tricornernews.com)
Thu, 11/10/2016 - 12:39pm
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A Style Evolving Into Abstract
November 10/2016
ART By Leon Graham
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A Style Evolving Into Abstract
The appeal of Victor Mirabelli’s paintings is immediate. Both impressionistic and abstract, the contrast between white structures — abandoned farm buildings, alone or in groups — and gauzy, feathery landscape draws you into the picture and its possible story.
Mirabelli’s work glows under what appears to be heavy layers of paint. Yet the paint is actually quite thin, the layers of direct pigment scrubbed and brushed on canvas to a feathery texture that gives the pictures a ghostly, haunting quality.
The artist’s current show, “Naked Imprint” at Argazzi Art in Lakeville, is the third in three years presented by owner Judith Singelis. Each has revealed an artist in development, moving toward an increasingly loose style. Buildings that three years ago were more defined are now not as strictly painted. And many are slightly out of plumb. They draw your eye in by their impreciseness, their slight tilt.
Victor Mirabelli Heritage 60 x 60 Oil on Canvas
Mirabelli has painted new work for the current show, all done in the past year. And there is not a weak picture in the group. You can see that he is moving into more abstract composition, a darker palette for landscape, a darker — yet viscerally appealing — world. In “Heritage,” the edges of a building seem to dissolve in a mist, they may not last much longer. The dark foreground encroaches on the building with feathery fingers.
Victor Mirabelli Bountiful 60 x 74 Oil on Canvas
“Bountiful” shows three white structures with solid walls facing a muted yellow field out of which gray tendrils reach into wall angles and up the sides of the buildings. There is an odd sense of movement, as if a process of decay is already underway.
Victor Mirabelli Above the Horizon 36 x 72 Oil on Canvas
“Above the Horizon” is unusual for Mirabelli: several buildings stretch across the canvas in a solid horizontal row, as if he has imagined a deserted village. And in “Afternoon Delight,” touches of yellow/orange suggest sunlight, maybe even fire, on a somber roof.
Victor Mirabelli, “Naked Imprint,” runs at Argazzi Art through Nov. 20. The gallery is at 22 Millerton Road in Lakeville, Conn., and is open Friday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 860-435-8222 or go to www.argazziart.com
