Singular Sensation

acrylic, mixed media, collage
20inX20in

$600.00

Joe LaMattina

Being creative can seem daunting in a world that values logic over imagination, practicality over dreaming.  In my work I love to experiment and play, to mix it all up. “Play is not the antithesis of something that is important!  To have playful thinking requires a sense of lightness and fluidity.”
Since most of my current work is mixed media, I usually start my work through drawing and mark-making, but ultimately add paint, collage, and any unusual, non-traditional materials that I am drawn to at the moment of creation.  This is usually followed by a ripping, tearing, scratching, pouring, splattering, deconstructive frenzy.  Eventually, I become immersed in the piece and begin building it back up with layers of texture.  I enjoy watching one medium spontaneously react to another.  Choosing between chaos and control as my hand hovers over a canvas is an exciting place to be.  Recently, I have allowed my work to rest here, completed, in a genre I call, “Organic Series”.  For me, they are truly Spiritual.
Should subject matter begin to surface, it is 99.9% figurative.   At this point in time, the majority of my portfolio consists of “Figurative Works”.  Interpreting and manipulating the human form is what excites me and fuels my spirit to create.  I love to juxtapose unrelated images that I invite to work together through theme, color, placement and composition.  Because these images that inspire me come from very different sources and experiences, I like to call this process of combining them, “Recycled Consciousness.”  Never losing sight of the initial pencil marks, which are important to me, I often strive to have some remain in the finished piece.  Like doodles in a sketchbook, they evoke the same spontaneous quality that I enjoy.  Since I have always loved the feeling and emotion of Edward Hopper’s paintings; the random slices of time, frozen and isolated, my work subconsciously takes on that trait.

I love the journey my art takes me on.  Regardless of subject matter or not, I love to present works with open-ended narratives.  This allows the viewers to establish their own relationships and to create their own dialogue based on the information that I provide for them.

Please enjoy them.

CONTACT
http://www.joelamattina.com
EMAIL
artist@joelamattina.com
201.446.7023