Francis DiFronzo: Proof of Life (Part 2)

Francis DiFronzo Proof of Life (Part 2)

Francis DiFronzo

Proof of Life (Part 2)

June 19 - July 17, 2021

2716 S. La Cienega Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90034 310-838-3685 | www.gbgla.com

Francis DiFronzo: Proof of Life (Part 2)

Born in San Pedro, California in 1969, Francis DiFronzo has been painting and exhibiting his artwork in the United States for more than thirty years. "I discovered at a young age that art had the ability to transport me out of my world and into the lives of artists I admired. When I looked at paintings by Andrew Wyeth or Edward Hopper, I felt as though I was momentarily living in the worlds they created. I wanted to do the same thing. I wanted my work to have that power". After receiving his B.F.A in 1994 from California State University, Fullerton, DiFronzo moved to Philadelphia, PA where he continued his studies in drawing and painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. There he worked and learned under the guidance of artists Murray Dessner, Jan Baltzell, Sidney Goodman, Vincent Desiderio and Irving Petlin. Di Fronzo earned his M.F.A from the Pennsylvania Academy in 1998, and in 2004, he was awarded the prestigious Pew Fellowship in the Arts. "Over the years, I've realized I'm fundamentally a storyteller. Like the artists I admired in my youth, I'm using my paintings to transport my audience into a world that is different than their own". "I'm drawn to desolate places and bare compositions. My paintings - as stories - are occupied by just a few characters. There is the sky and the Earth, arrowweed and creosote bushes, and perhaps some emblem of human existence... a road, or telephone pole, railcar, automobile, or roadside cafe". "I use these characters to create the bones of a story, and to imbue the paintings with some sense of mystery. There's just enough to draw you in and to keep you engaged". Di Fronzo exhibits his painting in New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA, Santa Fe, NM, Philadelphia, PA and Wilmington, DE.

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The Man Who Sold the World, 2021 oil over watercolor and gouache on panel 22 x 50 inches

Post Anthropocene, 2021 oil over watercolor and gouache on panel 38 x 50 inches

An Unseen Sunset, 2021 oil over watercolor and gouache on panel 32 x 72 inches Private Collection

The Morning After, 2021 oil over watercolor and gouache on panel 32 x 72 inches

While Far Off Stars Quiver, Blinking Dire Messages in Code, 2021 oil over watercolor and gouache on panel 30 x 60 inches

The Gate (Part 1), 2021 oil over watercolor and gouache on joined panel 25 x 66 inches

Driven Through, 2021 oil over watercolor and gouache on panel 22 x 50 inches

Summer Vacation, 2021 oil over watercolor and gouache on panel 20 x 50 inches

After Sunset, 2021 oil over watercolor and gouache on panel 15 x 17 inches

Beacon, 2021 oil over watercolor and gouache on panel 24 x 32 inches Private Collection

FRANCIS DIFRONZO

Born, San Pedro, California, 1969

EDUCATION 1998 M.F.A., Painting, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts 1994 B.F.A., Painting, California State University, Fullerton MAJOR & SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2021 Proof of Life (Part 2), Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA  2021 Of Myth and Mystery, Stanek Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 2020 Francis DiFronzo, George Billis Gallery, New York NY 2020 Francis DiFronzo, Somerville Manning Gallery, Greenville, DE  2020 Proof of Life, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA  2019 Parallels, Evoke Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM  2018 Storytellers, Francis DiFronzo & Victoria Wyeth, Stanek Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 2018 The Half-Life of Dreams (Part 2), Somerville Manning Gallery, Greenville, DE 2016 The Half-Life of Dreams, Evoke Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM 2015 The Earth’s Sharp Edge (Part 5), Somerville manning Gallery, Greenville, DE 2014 The Earth’s Sharp Edge (Part 4), Evoke Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM  2013 The Earth’s Sharp Edge (Part 3), Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA  2013 The Earth’s Sharp Edge (Part 2), Evoke Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM AWARDS 2016 Artwork featured throughout Season 2 of “Better Call Saul”, Sony Pictures 2004 Pew Fellowship in the Arts, Painting  1998 Stobbart Foundation Fellowship, Painting   SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY American Art Collector, “Intricate Parts”, January, 2020 American Art Collector, “The Half-Life of Dreams”, April, 2018  Fine Art Connoisseur, “The Art of Francis DiFronzo”, March, 2018  Western Art & Architecture, Ones to Watch: Francis DiFronzo”, April, 2016 American Art Collector, “Innovative Transports”, November, 2015 Pasatiempo, “Exhibitionism: Francis DiFronzo’s Trains”, October, 2014

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Francis DiFronzo: Proof of Life (Part 2)

Published on Jul 3, 2021

gbgla

George Billis Gallery is pleased to present ‘Proof of Life (Part 2),’ the gallery’s third solo exhibition of paintings by Southern California realist painter, Francis DiFronzo. This new body of work continues DiFronzo’s contemplation of the American West. ‘Proof of Life' will be on view at the gallery through July 17th. Francis Di Fronzo’s ethereal paintings depict imagined landscapes from a world of his own creation. His hauntingly beautiful paintings alternate between reality and the surreal as they present desolate and mysterious places. Di Fronzo creates from both direct observation of the world and from his imagination. The final paintings are highly realistic images which wander from familiar and mundane into the unknown realm of the artist's mind.