Tra Parentesi Exp1 2018

Alfio Giuffrida made "Tra Parentesi Exp1" by painting flat shapes and clean lines, almost like a technical drawing but with a playful use of color. The colors are laid down in simple blocks, creating a balance between precision and whimsy. The painting has a very smooth surface, without the build-up of thick paint, and you don’t see many brushstrokes, which gives it a graphic, almost printed feel. Look at how the odd assortment of geometrical shapes are arranged like a kit of ready-made forms, and the way Giuffrida uses a simple grid to hold them all together. Notice how the red pot sits at the bottom, grounding this visual game, while the blue parenthesis on either side frame the whole composition. It’s as if the painting is a meditation on holding things together, both physically and conceptually. The clarity and playfulness of this piece reminds me a little bit of Stuart Davis. But unlike Davis, Giuffrida pares down the detail so there's very little to distract from his arrangement of abstract forms. Ultimately, the painting is not about any one thing, but about the endless possibilities that emerge when we start organizing the world around us into visual structures.