A Kaleidoscope of Composition and Color
/ART Weekly | August 26th 2022
Artist John Asaro at Claggett/Rey Gallery
By Kimberly Nicoletti
“Dancer in Gold”
John Asaro
36"×28" | Oil | $16,000
John Asaro elevates the human body through his play with color, composition and form. His fascination with the human figure has compelled him to depict hundreds of nudes and dancers in his masterful and stylish oil paintings. He is as artistic as he is accurate in his presentation of human figures; an interest in architecture helps him approach painting human bodies much like constructing a building -only he uses muscles, tendons and bone structures as his building blocks.
Viewing dancers as the "ultimate perfect figures" in physique, Asaro highlights the models' striking positions and costumes with two or three different colors of light; the third light illuminates the side of the dancer that would typically show as shadowy and inspires him to portray the entire body in a uniquely remarkable manner. For instance, the "shad.ow" side might reveal itself in purples, which complement hues of blue and turquoise, or in reds, which contrast the cooler colors.
"It's just a play with light,” Asaro said. "The light is always a differ.ent color, and I push that color and make it just a little stronger. I try to do things photographers and other people don't see - a different view of the picture.”
“Dance of the Mimes”
John Asaro
36"×42" | Oil | $22,500
Each piece arouses various moods and emotion, depending upon its kaleidoscope of colors. But what Asaro strives mostly to convey is a sense of energy.
“I’m trying to give (viewers) life and excitement," Asaro said. "I want them to wake up.”
In his constant pursuit of "finding" life and energy in a piece, he tries to see his own paintings from that initial, millisecond moment before the eye and brain translate the painting into human forms.
"When you see a painting, the first thing that hits you strong is the way a painting is put together in shapes and colors. Then you see the subject,” he said. "I try to give them that first look - what they see first, without knowing.”
In his effort to capture that first-glimpse moment, Asaro may break the traditional rules he learned in his academic studies at ArtCenter College of Design in California and The Art Students League of New York.
“Overcome with Grief”
John Asaro
46"×46" | Oil | $28,500
''I'm just always trying to be me and be sensitive of my feelings as I'm working, so I may put something down that's not technically correct, but that's exciting."
For example, he's worked on pieces using extremely bright colors for the shadows, in order to bring them forward, while em.ploying grey hues for the normally light portions of the painting.
No matter what color schemes he chooses, he imbues human figures with three-dimensionality by paying attention to both the round in order to teach other artists to and the flatter parts of the body; in paint accurately. fact, he has mathematically broken He always listens to jazz or down planes of bodily structures, classical music as he paints; this, and his combination of skill, artistry and emotion, translates to fluid, lyrical and stunning artwork.