Post by Francisco Cadavid
Joseph Marioni’s large, color field paintings at Larry Becker Contemporary Art are evenly spaced on the pristine white walls of the gallery, each breaking the visual “silence” with a vivid splash of color — green, white, blue, yellow, or red.
The artist’s work comes together to provide a tranquil environment in a discreet manner. Many are quick to say that the mere application of several coats of paint of one color to a canvas is “not art.”
I, however, find that this is perhaps the artist’s attempt to strip art down to its bare essence, a pleasing display to evoke feelings from the viewer (in this case, peaceful ones).
Marioni’s work could also represent the many “colors” of human emotions, ranging from anger to pleasure to envy. His modern and minimalist style leaves the work open to many interpretations.
Joseph Marioni’s paintings will be at Becker through November 20th.
— Francisco Cadavid
–Francisco Cadavid is a student at the University of Pennsylvania in Colette Copeland’s class on writing about art.
