ARDEN + WHITE GALLERY is pleased to announce the opening of PAST PLACES, a solo show with works from Edmond Caputo. This new body of work illustrates abstract naturalistic imagery and patterns. Through the use of new and old materials, marble and charcoal mediums, the contemporary works are rooted in the history of art making. The resulting imagery oscillates between the foreground and background and sweeps the viewer into a state of deliberation; recognizing times bygone, a map leading now, or as one imagines.
Within the collection, the monochromatic works highlight the simplicity and complexity found within. While the stone-based material sparkles in its character, the undulating surfaces are reflective of nature. Layers of crust-like markings and arrangements built up from the artist’s process force a continued exploration of the work recognizable as the natural world.
The stratified works are created with powder pigments, typically used in industrial applications, mixed with acrylic polymer emulsion, and applied in repeated coats that saturate and build on the canvas. Patterns emerge through the use of plastic sheeting, which is physically modified by bunching, twisting, and mounting to a support surface. Marble or Charcoal media are applied and left to reveal the outcome in time.
Past Places is the artist’s meditation on former experiences; considering change and alteration from previous times. The work offers a glimpse into the past, a space of repose and reflection.
EDMOND CAPUTO
Edmond Caputo (b.1985) was raised in a bicultural family in rural upstate, New York. His family emigrated from an archipelago, the Eolie Islands above Sicily, Italy, to Norwich, NY during the 1940s. His culture of origin and family’s integration into a new environment has heavily shaped his perspective on life, art, and process. From a young age, Caputo spent time in Italy learning about his heritage, culture, and landscape, which offered him a more profound sensibility for materials and practice.
Caputo’s work deals mainly with material language and references to nature and time. His overlap between the volcanic island of Lipari, Italy, and geological upstate New York became a catalyst for his practice and connection with the environment. Topographies, textures, and remnants of the land have been carried into the work, referencing mapping and location on micro and macro levels.
Caputo holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture and painting from the Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY. His work has been exhibited throughout New York and is held in many private collections. Caputo was recently awarded the Creatives Rebuild New York artist grant. He has received several awards and participated in residencies such as Freight + Volume Gallery DNA residency, Provincetown, MA, and De-Construkt residency, Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY.
