Dirty Girl Things

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Number Thirty-Three

Pino

Pino has been producing works of a highly romantic nature with a unique and innovative touch. Exploring the depths of his experiences, he puts on canvas subjects that embody life’s simple pleasures. These works have a veil of nostalgia and the characters have subtle suggestions of complexity. Dressed in soft flowing fabrics, the colors of their garments in relation to the sea, sand, sky and sun elicit feelings of warmth, a perception of preciousness and a notion of an uncomplicated world. Reminiscent of his childhood environment, Pino’s paintings are generally set in coastal, sunny, and vibrantly floral places. He uses a colorful palette to create tender, pleasurable feelings. His fine art is rich with sensuality, rousing the memory through all the senses. Pino’s paintings resurrect in us the incidents of those simple, priceless moments we have stored in our memories and have so frequently forgotten. “My paintings elicit feelings of warmth. Oftentimes the subjects are of my sisters and aunts, in the house during my early years. I was constantly surrounded by them since my father and uncles were out working late providing for the family.” Pino was born in Bari, Italy on November 8, 1939. In 1960 he entered Milan’s Academy of Brera where he perfected his talent and skill for painting nudes. In the two years he studied at the Academy, he came under the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites and Macchiaioli. Pino also experimented with Expressionism of the late sixties during his stay in Milan. From 1960 to 1979 his work appeared in several major exhibitions throughout Italy and Europe. At the same time, he was commissioned by Italy’s two largest publishers, Mondadori and Rizzoli, for book illustrations. However, Pino felt restricted in Milan. He wanted more artistic freedom which he believed existed in the United States.In 1979, he immigrated to the United States under the sponsorship of the Borghi Gallery where he held several shows in New York and Massachusetts. In 1980, after knocking on many doors, Zebra Books Publishers commissioned him to do his first book cover. His interpretation was new, fresh and sensual, an illustration so successful that he gained entry into creative relationships with many leading publishers of Romance novels. Stylistically, he brought the characters into the foreground where his technique and talent for painting the anatomy was celebrated. His popularity grew within the literary community and he became the artist-in-demand for Zebra, Bantam, Simon and Schuster, Harlequin, Penguin USA and Dell. To date, Pino has illustrated 3,000 books. His style has dominated and influenced the market. Although Pino devoted thirteen years to illustrating book covers, he never abandoned his desire to return to fine art. In 1993, he realized his goal and has finally found the freedom he had always desired; to explore the profundity of his talents without restraint. In the United States Pino became fascinated with the works of Soralla, Sargent, Benson and William Merrit Chase. As his fame has grown, Pino has made numerous appearances on major TV networks and has been interviewed in national and international journals. His works are held in prestigious corporate and private collections throughout the world. In addition, his ability to capture the movements and expressions of his subjects has brought him private commissions to do portraits. Pino resides in New Jersey with his wife, a son and a daughter.

Contemplation and Restful