URBAN SCREENS Exp45 2017

Alfio Giuffrida's 'Urban Screens Exp45' is an oil on canvas composition, presenting a series of shapes in pastel hues that seem to allude to everyday objects. The flatness of the paint application emphasizes the constructed nature of the piece. Giuffrida's attention to color, form, and surface pushes against the traditional associations of oil paint with illusionism. The artist has instead created a world of stylized representation where geometric forms are used to suggest familiar shapes. Note how the texture of the canvas remains visible, a constant reminder of the artwork's materiality. It's an intriguing example of an artist taking the traditional medium of painting and using it to create a composition that is both familiar and abstract. Giuffrida invites us to think about how we perceive the world around us and how that perception is mediated by the materials and processes of art making. It challenges the hierarchy between fine art and the more accessible world of design.