LOS ANGELES, CA.- Edward Cella Art & Architecture is presenting Robert Minervini: Life in the Shadows, the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. Through a reductive process that partially abstracts his subjects and compositions, Minervini is presenting new still-life paintings that combine both flat and atmospherically deep space with art historical references. Imbued with symbolic imagery, temporal concepts, and worldly vanity the artist describes his work by saying: “I am not interested in depicting specific sites . . . my source material is made up from places that I see and reimagine in my studio. . . I manipulate space the same way you might manipulate pots and things on your patio.” From these ideas, Minervini effortlessly combines psychologically balanced compositions that suggest a reach toward perfection while reminding us that there is nothing natural about nature.
The reference to historic still-life painting that flourished in the Netherlands during the 1600’s is evident and as Minervini describes “. . . was meant to reflect the urbanization of society while emphasizing the homes and personal possessions of patrons and courtly collectors.” The completed paintings are informed by the heroes of Modern Art like Manet, Mondrian, Bonnard, and the early paintings of David Hockney and Alex Katz. However, in Minervini’s compositions, unusual combinations and ghostly abstractions create synergy between hard-edge paintings and velvety atmosphere where delineations of space and property create conspicuous symbolism.
Robert Minervini received a Master of Fine Arts degree from San Francisco Art Institute and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tyler School of Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA. Minervini works in painting, drawing, printmaking, murals, and site-specific installations and critically examines spatial environments while referencing art history, his own memories, and the collections and arrangements of objects, architecture, and space. Minervini has had solo exhibitions at Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco, CA; Marine Contemporary, Venice, CA; Sandpoint Gallery, Seattle, WA; and Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA. Group exhibitions include the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA; Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn, NY; Waterhouse and Dodd, New York, NY; Schneider Museum of Art, Ashland, OR; and Spring Break Art Show, New York, NY. He has been commissioned by The San Francisco Arts Commission for multiple projects and just received the Kala Fellowship Award for 2017-18. He has participated in residencies at Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA; Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, NE; The Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA; The Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT; and Facebook Analog Research Lab, Menlo Park, CA. His work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic Magazine, SF Weekly, San Francisco Chronicle, Art Ltd., Modern Painters, New American Paintings, and Beautiful Decay. His work is included in such publications as the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, Brooklyn Historical Society and in many private and corporate collections.
