TONY SALADINO Rite of Spring V / acrylic on canvas / 62” x 52” My work reflects my approach to life’s questions in a visual way. The brush marks are the output of all that I experience, think about and propose. Artistically, I rely not on narrative but on the visual impact of the work focusing on compositional elements of line, color, shape, and repetition to excite the eye. The relationship of those elements and how they connect echoes life's happenings. As the viewer looks at a painting he or she has only to see what is there-just paint on canvas-and let the color excite certain parts of the brain.
Tonly Saladino, who lives and works in Hurst, Texas, began his association with Gallery Shoal Creek in the 1980s. His early mezzotint prints feature simple subjects-a toy top or bunch of radishes-rendered in rich contrasting colors. By the 90s, he turned to painting quiet landscapes. Gradually his work became more abstracted, allowing form and geometric references to convey a mere suggestion of the landscape. Over the course of twenty years, the need for structure has given way to complete spontaneity. Today, the loose movement of color on the canvas invites us in and allows us to use our imagination, to create our own connections.