Pietro Adamo

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Artist’s Statement

To Pietro Adamo art is ultimately about expression. It is his way of liberating all his ideas and feelings. To realize this expression he has developed the careful and sophisticated language of his paintings.

“I am once again reminded of the delicate balance of all things great and small. Color and texture from nature and simple iconography from my ancestry combine to form the language of my art.”

His work is also very much an execution of action. He loves the charge of creating a piece, working the mediums into unique textures and compositions. Only when the statement is sustained can he step away and leave the painting.

“Painting”, he says, “is very much about the process of discovering problems and then solving them.”

Technique

Through years of studying and teaching art Adamo has uncovered much about technique and style. Always experimenting and expanding his knowledge he still has respect for the traditional methods.

Adamo uses modeling pastes and various gel mediums combined with silica sand to create the unique textured qualities within his pieces. He has at times even incorporated a stucco plaster. He begins by creating the texture of the work, and then layers the acrylic ground color on top. He sands the work, paints an additional color layer, and then sands again. He uses conte crayons and different oil veneers and washes for highlight and accents. His work is deliberate and tedious at times, the color sophisticated and passionate. This classic combination results in wonderfully fresh yet solid paintings.

Adamo has a lasting fascination with architecture. His camera is always ready. Adamo shoots inspiring buildings and other structures. He then makes silk screens from details of his favorites and weaves them into his compositions as a substructure for the painting or they are layered into the fabric of his surfaces. 

Biography

Pietro Adamo was born in Toronto, Canada in 1955. He enrolled in the Fine Art and Art History program at the University of Toronto and Sheridan College. After graduation he took a position teaching art at the Chaminade College School in Toronto. While there he helped establish a strong visual arts department, one which saw many of his students go on to become prominent architects, designers, illustrators and fine artists. During his two decades of teaching Adamo continued to paint, and in that time executed several private and public commissions of his work.

The paintings of Adamo are a celebration of the artists admiration for the unpredictable and inexhaustible record of life. He abandons the conventional renderings of geometric forms through his textured surfaces and rough contours.

Adamo draws influence from artists of all periods and from the world around him. Travel is an important source of inspiration; especially trips to Italy, his ancestral homeland. During these extended stays Adamo is able to explore monumental art and architecture as well as the small details of the rural landscape.

Adamo’s career as an artist has been a journey of continuous exploration and growth. His paintings on paper and canvas have a constant audience. He has also released a highly successful series of hand pulled prints and posters. Today his works can be found in galleries throughout Canada, Europe and the USA.