Afternoon In Venice 

Curator: This oil painting, entitled "Afternoon In Venice" by Dan Graziano, presents us with an urban landscape, a cityscape. It’s executed in a style that leans toward realism, even with its evident impressionistic brushstrokes. What is your immediate reaction to this work? Editor: Well, immediately I'm struck by the starkness. The prominent 'Venice' sign hanging across the street—it’s iconic, but feels almost… melancholic in this rendering. It captures that familiar sun-drenched, slightly gritty atmosphere of a specific place that could exist anywhere and any time. Curator: Indeed. Let's consider the tangible elements. The artist employs plein-air techniques, suggesting the work was produced on-site, directly engaging with the environment. Notice how the visible brushstrokes add a textural richness, reminding us of the physical act of applying oil paint to the support, imbuing a material sensibility that is very palpable. How does this treatment, these physical, almost blocky gestures, contribute to the work’s narrative? Editor: Those almost hasty, broken strokes really define the narrative for me. They avoid idealization, pointing away from the famous Venice most tourists might expect. That sign, replicated through image after image, hints at deeper layers of meaning—the commodification of place, the relationship between aspiration and reality. Curator: Exactly. We see a relationship here between "high art" techniques and something more immediate, raw, even approaching graffiti art in its bluntness of execution and message. Do you feel the use of such well known, well-trodden symbol weakens or strengthens its effect? Editor: Paradoxically, I think it strengthens it. The painting captures a quiet tension in the use of something immediately recognizable and somewhat cliché. I am curious: The painting style doesn’t focus on romantic notions of Venice. What purpose does this Venice hold in today’s world? Curator: I see a statement of work, labor, a deliberate choice to portray the quotidian aspect of the city—its infrastructure, its materials, even its slightly weathered facades. And that is reflected, physically in the paint used. Thank you. Editor: Agreed, a captivating contrast in place, technique, and narrative.