Please join us on Friday, May 10th from 6 – 9 pm for a very special reception for the opening of About Face. The artists will be available to take any questions about the work and refreshments will be served.
Immediately following at 9 pm will be a special performance by Ravi Shavi to get everyone dancing into the weekend. The public is cordially invited. The gallery reception and following concert are non-ticketed events. Join us for a great night of Art and Music.
“About Face” is a collection of new American portraiture created by four of the most exciting New England artists working today.
Through a variety of different styles and paint mediums, you will view a collection of vastly different interpretations of what a portrait could look like. From classic painting techniques to mixed media and everything in between. Inspired by each other’s work for many years, we are excited to debut our first group show together.
Peter Cardoso (Top row, Left) Is an art director for Samsonite, an adjunct professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, and a primary designer and screen printer at Ghost Town Studio. Via his studio, he has worked with some of the world’s best-known musicians and bands creating graphics for over two decades. While his poster work has been shown in various galleries (including the Narrows) museums and collected globally, this is his first showing of fine art paintings, and he is excited to have its debut at the Narrows. His work is in the permanent collections of the RISD Museum and MassMoca and has been published in a variety of books over the years.
Joanna Vespia (Top row, Right) is a Rhode-Island based artist and designer who works in a variety of media including spray paint, oil paint, and charcoal. Her work covers a range of subject matter, but most often centers around portraiture and the human figure. Her imagery often incorporates unusual and unique elements from the natural world.
Based in Rhode Island, Ricki Vespia (Bottom row, Left) is a self-taught painter whose primary medium is spray paint. Over the last 20 years, he has had exhibitions across the United States from New York to California, and has had his artwork featured on album covers for hardcore and punk bands. His subject matter is eclectic and is usually a mix of sharp imagery and loud color, drawing inspiration from a wide range of influences including film, medieval art, and graffiti.
Ty Paulhus (Bottom row, Right) is an artist based in Massachusetts, who paints primarily on paper with ink, watercolor, but often explores with spray paint and acrylic. Taking inspiration from punk rock, skateboarding, comics and graffiti, he layers iconography, figures, masks, and abstract writing to tell cryptic stories left for the viewer to decipher.
