VENICE, ITALY.- "The Adventure of Images" by R.W. Firestone begins Saturday, June 15th. Kicking off with a press conference on June 14th, an opening reception on June 15th, and continuing for 30 days at the Museum of Sacred Art at S. Apollonia, ’The Adventure of Images’ presents several cycles of works completed in the last three years by American artist Robert W. Firestone.  The museum is located just a few steps from San Marco Square in Venice, Italy.



Firestone’s latest work is noteworthy in its adventurous use of a new formal artistic language where the sensitivity of the artist’s hand cohabitates harmoniously with digital technology. This marriage of traditional artistic technique and electronics has allowed Firestone extraordinary imaginative freedom, enabling him to deal with a wide variety of visual themes ranging from geometric and informal abstracts to portraits, from re-invented landscapes to the overlay of figurative elements. Firestone’s distinctively expressive style, particularly his fine sense of color and composition, is enhanced and extended by this technology, yet the work retains a strong painting sentiment through the impression of a color jet onto canvas. 39 canvases will be displayed in this solo exhibition



"Robert Firestone pursues a secret ‘dream of might’, of succeeding in disclosing an imagination perhaps even for himself unexplored, which claims only the right to apparition and visual declaration. He relies substantially on two elements: science and art, that is, on knowledge of the computer and on sensitivity to color" (from monograph by Enzo Di Martino).



One sees in his body of artistic work, the subjects that have interested him throughout his life.  For example, although Firestone grew up in a huge metropolis, he was close enough to the ocean to hear the foghorns. He developed into a world-class sailor and the sea is often in his art. Having lived in three of the world’s largest cities -- New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles -- cityscapes are another of his themes. People are, of course, at the core of his artistic interest. His subject matter includes himself, his family, and many colleagues, friends, and acquaintances from over the years. A particularly striking example is his Many Faces of Mother for which he juxtaposed many variations of a woman’s picture creating a montage of both positive and negative imagery in which the "mother" appears anything but warm. One can imagine the love, fear, and fascination that a child would have while watching such a mother. [A special website - including a slide show presentation of the 39 canvases in this exhibition -is available at www.theartofrwfirestone.com.]



An artist’s style can be seen to develop over time and almost all experiment with different techniques as they mature. Firestone’s art has undergone such an evolution. His earliest works were oils rendered in an expressionistic style, largely colorful and evocative. The painting, Schizophrenia, which will appear on the cover of the April, 2002 issue of ’American Psychologist’ (and shown below), comes from that prolific period. After moving to Los Angeles to begin private practice in the early 1960’s, Firestone completed a series of tempera paintings done in an almost graphic style capturing the dynamic architecture of a city and the turbulence of the sea. Artists of the expressionist period in the early 20th century would have had to stop there given that computers were yet to be invented.



Firestone has applied advanced technology to his more traditional techniques to create highly original works such as his photo mosaic portraits and digital collages. An example is his award-winning Self-Portrait with Artist’s 10 Children, shown above, a photo mosaic in which Firestone overlaid tiny images of ten of his children on a photo portrait of himself. He uses computers, scanners and specialized software, prints his work on glossy artist’s canvas, on a thick textured acid-free rag paper, or a thick glossy photo stock using the highest quality giclee printer with pigmented archival inks to produce works that will last 200 years. The results are remarkable, crisp, brilliant and detailed and capture the essence of Firestone’s artwork.