Mark Mastroianni & Rick Begneaud
May 16 – July 25, 2009
Woodward Gallery
Artists Mark Mastroianni & Rick Begneaud breathe new life into their mixed media paintings.
Mark Mastroianni has been for over a decade contemplating the life-sustaining properties of water. As an international artist, Mastroianni had found tarpaper the most reliable medium to transport. Mastroianni’s tarpaper paintings are built up into a smooth surface. The Artist uses this glacial surface to glide on abstracted images of floating embryos, reflections of light and the motion of currents. Mastroianni may add branches or other organic elements to sum up his unity with nature. His paintings offer peaceful beginnings–drops of hope.
Rick Begneaud, a Cajun South Louisiana native, has also travelled extensively. He appropriates textiles and small elements from villages throughout the world to embody those locations from a different perspective. He aptly combines paint, collaged with fabrics to create abstracted, angular shapes pulsating with rich color. His special preservation of found items morph into new creations. The exhibition will be Rick Begneaud’s New York premiere.
Mastroianni and Begneaud’s intention to preserve the spirit of life is their unifying force. Together their body of abstract work conveys life’s circumstances regenerated into intriguing visual signs.
