FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"APRIL FOOL"
A SOLO EXHIBIT OF MISSISSIPPI ARTIST ANTHONY DIFATTA
DAVID LEONARDIS, GALLERY OWNER
HOWARD FINSTER VISION HOUSE, CHICAGO
APRIL 1 - MAY 3
RECEPTION APRIL 1 & 2, 6PM - 9PM
The Howard Finster Vision House Chicago will feature Anthony DiFatta as their
Artist of the Month in a show opening on April 1.
DiFatta’s works have been have been in many solo and group exhibits
throughout Mississippi and in New York, Memphis, Santa Clara, CA, and Baton
Rouge. His artwork has been seen internationally on CD covers, posters,
books, and as the official art for MS Picnic in Central Park, Crossroads Film
Fest, The Viking Golf Classic, HeArts Against Aids and many more. He compiled
and designed the book, "Images from the Edge", a collection of artwork and
creative writing from the Stubbs Homeless Program.
“This body of work is very influenced by my love of outsider art and my work
with mentally and homeless individuals.” said DiFatta. The subject matter is
very ‘pop’ and references the work I was doing years ago with still-lifes,
the “Voodoo Doll” series, and some of the cd artwork I has done for Men of
Leisure, Eric Matthews, and Grammy Nominees Dorothy Moore, Bobby Rush, and
Headfridge.”
“The Voodoo Doll series I’m including in this show started shortly before
I left MCI/WorldCom. I was beginning to feel trapped in this corporate job. I
spent all day (and some nights) in a cubicle with less and less actual contact
with the people I worked for,” DiFatta said. “I started making paintings
of elongated figures in suits, sometimes with their hands and feet bound and
the lines would extend to the corners of the canvas. These lines became visual
devices for pinning the figures to the ground.”
“Growing up in Louisiana, I was always fascinated with Creole culture, and
the stories of Marie Laveau and Voodoo, so it was a very short jump to turn my
figures into voodoo dolls. They eventually became more whimsical than
grim.”
“The other still-life work I do is very influenced by Wayne Theibaud, who
is one of my favorite artists,” DiFatta said. “He paints banal objects,
most notably cakes and pies, but treats them in an almost iconic way. These
ideas carried into the first solo show that I had in Jackson, ‘The
Extrodinary within the Ordinary,’ and this new work for the Chicago show has
brought me full circle.”
DiFatta and gallery owner, David Leonardis, met by chance in a karaoke bar
after a Cubs game. "I was in Chicago to audition for a television show and
when I didn't get it, my wife and I went to a comedy club to cheer me up."
says DiFatta. By luck they sat down at a table with Leonardis and immediately
hit it off. Now DiFatta is having his first solo show in Chicago at Leonardis'
new gallery.
The show is from April 1st to May 3. Opening receptions are Friday April 1st &
Saturday April 2nd from 6-9pm.The Howard Finster Vision House Chicago is
located at 1346 N. Paulina St. Chicago, IL
312-863-9045
http://www.howardfinstervisionhouse.com
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