INVENTIONS: RECENT PAINTINGS BY CAIO FONSECA

Although grounded in tradition, Fonseca’s approach is unusual: After an initial division of the surface into areas based on the golden section, he applies several layers of pigment to create what Fonseca calls “a ground of tones.” The final composition consists of the forms that take shape as he paints over and around the colors and tones already applied underneath. In Fonseca’s words, “these forms are never symbols or abstractions of objects in the real world.” He describes his method as doing “whatever it takes to give these emerging forms a mysterious and animated sense of identity and movement. Every inch of surface must have a physical life and every element, however minor, must be a functional player in the larger vision of the work.”

Fonseca’s aesthetic is a product of several cultures. During childhood he lived in both Manhattan and Pietrasanta, Italy, where his sculptor-father maintained a studio. As a young adult he studied painting for several years in Barcelona with the well-known Spanish artist, Augusto Torres. A two-year sojourn in Paris completed his international orientation. Presently, Fonseca lives and works in New York, but spends several months of the year at his own studio in Pietrasanta.

INVENTIONS: RECENT PAINTINGS BY CAIO FONSECA was organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art and supported by The President's Exhibition Fund and an anonymous donor.