Artist Statement

Education:

State University of New York at Buffalo, B.S., Art Education, Masters of Art Education
Teacher of Art / 12 Years

Enrico’s work has been exhibited and is part of private collections world-wide including the US, Canada, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, South Africa and New Zealand.

THE BEGINNING:

Enrico Embroli was born in the small town of Batavia, New York and later graduated from the University of New York in Buffalo with a Masters of Art Education. He taught in high schools and a junior college for twelve years before abandoning teaching to pursue his career full time.

“I’ll never forget my first selling trip to New York.  I’d packed up some canvases in Styrofoam and cardboard and carried them under my arms up and down the sidewalks of the city.”  He was not naïve enough to believe that he would actually sell any of his works on the initial visit.  He merely attempted to seek the opinions of gallery owners.  “I thought my best chances would be with the smaller galleries, so I spent three days in the Soho area trying to get someone to look at my work.”  The responses were so uniformly disinterested and negative that the disheartened young artist decided to return home.

With one afternoon left in his schedule, Embroli ventured uptown to the major galleries where he found an unexpectedly better reception. The most enthusiastic response came from Leo Castelli, the famed harbinger of contemporary art. (Castelli was directly involved with the success of many artists including Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Roy Lichtenstein and Frank Stella.)  “Mr. Castelli told me that my work had definite quality, that it would sell and that I should keep on working.”

Castelli’s prediction came to life almost immediately. Embroli’s canvases began to appear in major shows, private collectors began to buy them, and major corporations began to request commissions.

THE MIDDLE:

Embroli tends to work on a large scale in styles that vary from the representational to non-objective as well as multimedia such as paintings on canvases, three-dimensional hanging art as well as sculpture.  Enrico’s first love was sculpture.

“When I was in college, I loved sculpture.  However, I realized that it would be almost impossible for a young, starving artist to find a landlord who would allow you to whack away at all hours of the night.  So…I began experimenting with sculptural forms on canvas.”

“My paintings are created in a two-stage process…a unique technique I’ve developed over many years.  First, I deal with the textural format:  I map out my design which includes a multi-media aggregate of resin, thin layers of oil paint, and glazing with a clear varnish in between each layer to create depth and translucency.”

The resulting canvases are often richly textural, and achieve a uniquely volumetric quality despite the obvious flatness.  His body of work, although different in technique, medium and subject matter reveals a depth of concept and skill uniquely Embroli’s.  The subject matter often speaks of relationship…relationship between humans; between the spiritual and physical; between the emotional and the sexual; between the reality of the physical and conceptual.  Intangibles intrigue him.

Embroli says, “Art can express life, invent form, give ideas a tangible presence.  It is the artist’s obligation to bring these concepts to reality and place them in the context of humanism, culture and history.”

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Dissimilar Factions Series

The body of work represented in the series 'Dissimilar Factions' expresses my passion to explore both disciplines of painting and sculpture. Through this process, elements dissimilar in character found new visual harmony and strength within a structured format.

Each has evolved over the years through the development of intertwining skills and techniques. For me, this has allowed each to develop their own aesthetic statement while allowing one to inform the other. The incessant and exciting challenge for me over the years has been to merge these two disciplines ( i.e. Spatial Vibration V ) into a unique balanced context, thus creating a new visual sensibility.

From intimate scaled pieces to the larger complex works and fabricated bronzes, this series represents the sequential evolution of this thought process.

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Intuitive Resonance Series

An aesthetic perception of thought passionately articulating the spirit and emotions of my vision is a challenge I embrace everyday. The thought of beginning a new work almost takes my breath away. This feeling has been with me form the start and fortunately continues with each new day.

Embracing this energy and enthusiasm, I have completed this new body of work. Dialogue and communication is a common thread of many of the explorations throughout my career.

The pieces that are part of the 'Intuitive Resonance' series offer new explorations with a diversification of explorations both physically and mentally. Each piece is told through the story of texture, color and surface. These attributes explore dialogue as subconscious whispers guiding a spontaneous interaction of thought with materials.

Giving physical presence to intuitive thought and spiritual energy.

Some works resonate with quietude and reflection while others express an exuberance of energy and emotion, all continuing the evolution of communication. No matter the voice, each canvas speaks a unique language that encourages the viewer to acquiesce in contemplative discourse.

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Transcendent Echo Series

Thought energies are both conscious and unconscious and interact with our present reality.

I believe these energies co-exist and manifest themselves as faint echoes that are in a continual state of flux within us.

This series of work offers my visual narrative of the interaction of thought energies as they transcend to the present.

View Enrico's Work

Awards, Selected Exhibitions & Collections