The Dead Artists Gallery Presents “Sheeba, a Feline Companion”

Graphite and watercolor on old paper, this whimsical portrait is signed by the New Jersey/New York artist Antonio Romano (1953-2018) and was probably executed about 1980. Romano was an Italian-American who studied under Luigi Fali and also attended the School of the Visual Arts in New York City, working under James Moriarty. He developed his distinctive style combining modernism and folk art (which he called “e-scribble”)… a style with elements of surrealism derived from childhood memories and symbols in central Italy, with inspiration coming from exposure to features of wool tapestries made on family looms. The influence of Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978), the Italian Futurist, as well as Paul Delvaux (1897-1994) and Rene Magritte (1898-1967) is acknowledged, but Romano assimilated their influence and created provocative paintings, carefully conceived, designed and executed. His frames are turn-of-the-century ones he considers to be an integral part of the work. 20″ x 24″ in his original frame, $575.