FRED DUIGNAN | Transcending Chaos : Castello 925, Fondamenta San Giuseppe, Sestiere Castello 925, Venice, VE Italy
"Throughout (Duignan) is on a spiritual quest, cracking open his Catholic heritage into painterly fragments and invented images"
Fred Duignan’s art is fueled by the drive to transcend chaos, both the chaos of picture making and of life itself. The practical Romans considered chaos to be an unformed mess, a jumble of all the elements. The philosophical Greeks more profoundly believed that chaos was the primal substance out of which the world arose. Duignan’s art encompasses both. He started as a player in the 1980s East Village, NYC, when art burst forth as direct, unruly, naïve seeming, getting at raw personal matters of process and reality, accessing the unconscious as well as conscious intensities. For his process, Duignan took a collaborative role with paint itself, allowing it to flow, skein, drip, puddle, considering it to be an “animal, fiery with purpose...ignoring all rules, unafraid,” consequently imbuing his works with an insistent energy. Driven by primal personal experiences of childhood abuse by the father to the family and by the journey in finding himself, his images resonate with struggle, eros, and spirit. One series directly of family and one concerning his late cancer are the beginning and the end of the exhibit, accompanied by his own poetry. In between Duignan immersed himself in meta issues of environmental and industrial decay and hope. Throughout he is on a spiritual quest, cracking open his Catholic heritage into painterly fragments and invented images. His journey is like that of Dante, into darkness, struggling through purgatory, seeking light and redemption. A late series brings us to a resplendent cosmic abstraction.
-- Sara Lynn Henry, exhibition curator
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Jen Dragon | crosscontemporaryprojects@gmail.com
Castello 925
Fondamenta San Giuseppe
Sestiere Castello, 925
30122 Venezia, IT
galleria@castello925.com
6 July - 7 September, 2024
VERNISSAGE: Saturday 6 July, 2024, 17:00- 20:00
6 pagine con immagini
(Venice, ITALY) - Castello 925 presents the paintings of the late New York artist FredDuignan, curated by his wife, Sara Lynn Henry. Duignan's work is known not only for its variety of textures, washes and techniques, but also for its powerful abstract imagery. The paintings in this exhibit represent the last few years of work after receiving his diagnosis. According to the curator, his wife Sara Lynn Henry, " (The artist)... started as a player in the 1980s East Village, NYC, when art burst forth as direct, unruly, naïve seeming, getting at raw personal matters of process and reality, accessing the unconscious as well as conscious intensities. For his process, Duignan took a collaborative role with paint itself, allowing it to flow, skein, drip, puddle, considering it to be an “animal, fiery with purpose...ignoring all rules, unafraid,” consequently imbuing his works with an insistent energy."
About Fred Duignan:
Born June 1, 1952 in Jersey City, NJ, Fredrick Duignan attended St. Mary’s in Rutherford, NJ, then studied at St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Indiana; the duCret Center of Art, Plainfield, NJ; and obtained a BA in Fine Art and graduate certificate from University of California, Santa Cruz. Over the years he worked as a Curator of Contemporary Art at the Paterson Museum, an art critic, and always as a master artist/poet.
ABOUT CASTELLO 925:
Castello 925 is a multi-disciplinary, non-profit gallery which serves as a crucible for the visual arts, literature and culture. Founder Luca Caldironi envisioned a space dedicated to creativity, or rather cre-activity. Castello 925 is a gallery where experimental expressions of all kinds come to meet, collaborate, improvise, produce and construct; a place to present "finished" works that were built elsewhere, yet also a space where new ideas and new co-operations come to life.
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CONTATTO: Jen Dragon
Castello 925, Fondamenta San Giuseppe
(Venezia, VE) - Castello 925 presenta i dipinti del compianto artista newyorkese Frederick Duignan, curati da sua moglie, Sara Lynn Henry. Il lavoro di Duignan è noto non solo per la sua varietà di trame, lavaggi e tecniche, ma anche per le sue potenti immagini astratte. I dipinti in questa mostra rappresentano gli ultimi anni di lavoro dopo aver ricevuto la sua diagnosi. Secondo la curatrice, sua moglie Sara Lynn Henry, "(L'artista)... ha iniziato come attore nell'East Village, New York degli anni '80, quando l'arte è esplosa come diretta, indisciplinata, apparentemente ingenua, arrivando a questioni di processo personali e crude. e la realtà, accedendo all'inconscio così come alle intensità consce. Per il suo processo, Duignan ha assunto un ruolo collaborativo con la pittura stessa, permettendole di fluire, ingarbugliarsi, gocciolare, pozzanghera, considerandola un “animale, ardente con uno scopo... ignorando tutte le regole, senza paura", conferendo di conseguenza alle sue opere un'energia insistente."
Informazioni su Fred Duignan:
Nato il 1 giugno 1952 a Jersey City, NJ, Fred Duignan ha frequentato la St. Mary's a Rutherford, NJ, poi ha studiato al St. Joseph's College di Rensselaer, Indiana; il duCret Center of Art, Plainfield, NJ; e ha conseguito una laurea in Belle Arti e un certificato di laurea presso l'Università della California, Santa Cruz. Negli anni ha lavorato come curatore d'arte contemporanea al Paterson Museum, critico d'arte, e sempre come maestro artista/poeta.
INFORMAZIONI SU CASTELLO 925:
Castello 925 è una galleria multidisciplinare e senza scopo di lucro che funge da crogiolo per le arti visive, la letteratura e la cultura. Il fondatore Luca Caldironi ha immaginato uno spazio dedicato alla creatività, o meglio alla cre-attività. Castello 925 è una galleria dove espressioni sperimentali di ogni tipo si incontrano, collaborano, improvvisano, producono e costruiscono; un luogo dove presentare opere “finite” che sono state realizzate altrove, ma anche uno spazio dove prendono vita nuove idee e nuove collaborazioni.
