Contemporary Artist: Vincent Desiderio

"Boating Party" (top left)
   I have decided that Desiderio paints figures in realistic space as if those people were objects in a still life.  There is often a sense of exasperation or a lack of liveliness to the people he chooses to paint.  I love the sense of depth in this piece with the many layers of figures and objects.  The colors seem to be from a realistic palette instead of muted with contrast or shadows.  Even though there are two human bodies, there is no suggestion of life from either of them.

"Interpretation of Color" (right)
     Again in this paiting there are varied levels to provide the illusion of depth in the painting.  deeper areas are granted richer colors to show depth.  The man is fainted or dead on the floor.  There is no sign of life in the man in this painting which arouses many questions and even further questions by the array of artist books scattered across the floor.  There does seem to be an atmospheric quality to this piece as you get farther away from the center, a turquoise blue cloudiness. 

"Sink" (bottom left)
     This woman was apparently drowned in a sink the transluscency of her attire is curious but impressive.  Besides the more healthy looking tones of her arms, legs, and torso, her head seems to be a lighter shade of blue which suggests suffocation or that maybe her head is still underwater.