The First Street Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of the exhibition of paintings by contemporary artist Joseph D'Esposito on October 23. The show continues through November 10.
Childhood is a time of formative memories that later become part of our interior life, significantly affecting our actions. For an artist these recurrent memories can reappear as leitmotifs in their work. Such is the case in the paintings of Joseph D'Esposito, whose superheros have their origins in the comic books of his childhood. These heroic protagonist are described by D'Esposito as having "special powers, hidden hideaways and secret identities that empowered me to become an artist." In his present exhibition at First Street Gallery, D'Esposito's paintings have moved away from his former cityscapes toward a landscape of the self and its sources. Alternating between images of comic books and masks, are partial views of the self seen in a mirror surrounded by objects of daily usage. A native of Brooklyn, Joseph D'Esposito studied at the Art Students League and the National Academy of design. His painterly realism based on observation, memory and imagination has its roots on the streets of Brooklyn and amongst the quotidian objects of his life. In this particular exhibit, an ascendant role is assigned to the self in search both of its past and cultural origins.
D'Esposito has exhibited extensively on the East Coast in such venues as the Parrish Art Museum, Southhampton, NY; National Academy of Design, NYC; Sunnen Gallery, NYC; First Street Gallery, NYC. His paintings have been acquired by the Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay Oregon; Uni Bank, NYC; The Museum of the City of New York, NYC; Cineric Inc. NYC; and Private Collections.
A reception for the artist will be beld Thursday October 25 from 6 to 8 PM.