Blue (Ocean), 2004
Blue (Ocean), 2004
22 × 18-1/4 inches




Grey (New York City 2), 2003
Grey (New York City 2), 2003
12 × 12 inches




Yellow (Country), 2003
Yellow (Country), 2003
12 × 12 inches




Red (Almost Landscape), 2003
Red (Almost Landscape), 2003
12 × 12 inches




Black, 2004
Black, 2004
12 × 12 inches




 Marco Casentini: Recent Paintings

Italian artist, Marco Casentini opens a solo exhibition of recent paintings on Thursday, March 4, at 49 Geary Street. In this his third solo exhibition with Brian Gross, Casentini will show his new reductive monochromatic paintings on canvas. There will be a reception for the artist on Thursday, March 4, from 5:30-7:30pm.

The subtle and refined canvases mark a distinctive new direction in Casentini's work. Ranging in size from one foot square to over five feet tall, these formal investigations of color and spatial play are comprised of multiple geometric planes created through layering a single color and changing the direction of the brush stroke. The seemingly simple compositions create a constant visual paradox between two-dimensional and three-dimensional space.

Painted on canvas over board with the painted planes continuing on the sides of the work, the implied overlapping textures continually flux between the flatness of the paint and their illusionistic depth to create distinct spatial tensions. Standing out from the wall, the paintings exist as an interplay of geometries emphasized by the flatness of their medium and their sculptural presence.

Born in La Spezia, Italy in 1961, Casentini studied painting at the Liceo Artistico and the Accademia di Belle Arti, in Carrara, Italy. His work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands as well as Australia. He currently lives and works in southern California.