Domenic Cretara

March 15, 2008 - April 12, 2008

This exhibit is comprised of small paintings. Some of them are figure compositions, many are landscapes and some are still lifes. Artistically, I have always been an extremist, preferring to work either on very large or very small paintings. There is, however, something intense about small works. Though modest in size, a painting may be grand in scale because it is characterized by an organization that encompasses all of the work’s visual elements into a few powerful, simple relationships contained within a small area. In no way are these works preliminary studies for larger pieces. In fact, in some cases, the small works came at the end of a long series of much larger paintings, summarizing their themes and stating the essence of their ideas. Like envisaging the creation of a city from the top of a mountain, I think of my small paintings as large works executed from a great distance.

Although the subjects vary widely, the common thread is not so much the subjects themselves but the choices I make about them and the attitude I bring to the work. The content is what I discover within the subjects.