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Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
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Daniel Rocco DiDio: Life of the Creative @ aND Gallery
Tuesday 14 October @ 19:23:50 |
 by Valerie Valentine
Believe it or not, the Twin Cities art scene is connected to the rest of the world. We’re not just an isolated, insular community sputtering with flashes of brilliance; our hometown burns steady with local artists on fire. Their passion draws artists from other cities to the flame. Daniel Rocco DiDio of Brooklyn, New York is one of them.
aND gallery in St. Paul shows this seasoned artist’s works on a grand scale compared to the aND satellite gallery in New York where DiDio was only able to display four of his paintings. Galleries in the Twin Cities have a great range of sizes, and at St. Paul’s aND Gallery, DiDio can display nearly three times as many pieces.
“The Zipper” by Daniel Rocco DiDio
Themed around living the life of a creative person, we see inside the mind of an artist through paintings that express how the creative clock ticks. Each portrait of an ubiquitous bald man gives a different impression of an artist’s self-directed opinions. An artist can very often be his or her own harshest critic. We can feel this in looking at a looming image like “Julian,” where the figure intimidates the viewer with a larger than life glare, sizing up the person, eyes narrowed, looking for flaws. Standing in the center of the gallery, one almost cowers under the power of the collective judging gazes.
Other abstract works play with the same eerie figure in a scrambled method. “Transition” is a mix of ‘80s new wave color. The happy shades are contrasted by the Francis Bacon-like turmoil of the piece. The influence of Picasso mutates familiar objects, like a heavy cloud making vaguely lewd gestures, or body parts dismembered then twisted together in a gaily-mixed palette of pink, lime, orange and gold. Materials used include oils and acrylics; the artist also uses textiles from his day-job in fabric design, which provides a bit of texture in the paintings.
Worth mentioning is Xelias Aerial Performance Company that performed at the opening. Three performers, clad in bodysuits painted with muscle groupings, hung, twisted and twirled from drapes and a hoop in acrobatic artistry. Their graceful, sexy movements are not your usual dance troupe fare.
Be not deterred by the stylish salon at the front of the gallery. aND stands ready to link the Twin Cities to a national art movement.
Daniel Rocco DiDio: Life of the Creative runs through Nov. 22. aND Gallery, 526 Selby Ave., 526 Salon Building, St. Paul. 651-222-1346.
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