FRANCIS DI FRONZO T h e
E a r t h ’ s
S h a r p
E d g e ,
P a r t
4
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505.995.9902 EVOKEcontemporary.com
T
he Earth’s Sharp Edge, Part 4 is Francis Di Fronzo’s continuing exploration of the indomitable spirit that sent people to undeveloped western land to make their fortune.
A recurring theme in the artist’s work is the barren landscape of the Mojave Desert, its light, its skies, and the failed or still surviving presence of the fortune seekers. Di Fronzo spent nine weeks in the summer of 1991 living in a tiny house there, spending his days drawing skulls, desert plants, and self portraits. The loneliness and emptiness were too much for him, and he walked out of the little house leaving everything behind, including his trove of drawings. Returning to the area six years later, the house was gone, but the experience of the landscape came back to him. “I realized that those few weeks had a massive influence on the way I create everything visually,” he says. “I remember peaceful sunsets--a magical time. I’d turn and watch the eastern sky and the purple shadow of the earth slowly creeping up the horizon.” Di Fronzo’s paintings have big skies—from the heat of mid-day to the warm light and cool temperature of sunset and, occasionally, the darkness of night. Sometimes his titles refer to the viewer but always he tries to put the viewer into the landscape as the observer, confronting the desert in reality or confronting his or her own internal desert. “People sometimes say my paintings are perfect. They’re not. The imperfections are kind of my way of telling the audience that perfection isn’t what its about. It’s about what’s visually interesting. It isn’t the Mojave Desert. It’s simply a desert,” he explains. “Despite development that gives no thought to maintaining the natural landscape or to the aesthetic aspect of the environment, the land still meets the horizon at the earth’s sharp edge, and I can still watch the sun set behind the mountains beyond the freeway.” Di Fronzo was born in San Pedro, California and received his BFA in Painting at California State University, Fullerton, in 1994 and his MFA in painting at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1998. John O’Hern, American Art Collector
front cover | The Gate, part 5, oil over gouache and watercolor on panel, 31 x 62
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At Twilight, part 2, oil over gouache and watercolor on panel, 31 x 50
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The Valley of Shadow, part 1 oil over gouache and watercolor on panel, 32 x 72
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Rivals, part 2 oil over gouache and watercolor on panel, 31 x 49
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The Prospector, part 7 oil over gouache and watercolor on panel, 30 x 60
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At Twilight oil over gouache and watercolor on panel, 32 x 72
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The Earth’s Sharp Edge, part 5 oil over gouache and watercolor on panel, 32 x 50
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Coupled, part 1 oil over gouache and watercolor on panel, 35 x 50
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Rivals, part 3 oil over gouache and watercolor on panel, 24 x 72
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Wrath, part 1 oil over gouache and watercolor on panel, 50 x 32
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Razed, part 1 oil over gouache and watercolor on panel, 17 x 51
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Roy’s, Dawn oil over gouache and watercolor on panel, 30 x 60
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Wild Thing oil over gouache and watercolor on panel, 20 x 60
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The Gate, part 6 oil over gouache and watercolor on panel, 24 x 49
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Last Chance, oil over gouache and watercolor on panel, 24 x 49
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