Art at Tillie's: Reflections

January's Artwork at Tillie's: January 4 – February 6, 2010 Reception Friday 1/8/10, 7 – 9 p.m.

Brooklyn-based artist David Macaluso achieved international recognition last year with his portraits of Barack Obama painted with used motor oil, a medium he’s been using since 2005. He regards this technique, one of many at his disposal, as a means of recycling while also serving as a metaphorical undercurrent in his work. The portraits prompted ExxonMobil to become a client. In October 2009 the "Barack Obama: Made in Motor Oil" portraits were published in a hardcover edition called Hope: A Collection of Obama Posters and Prints.

The artist states: “I regard my work as part of a vast and enigmatic evolutionary continuum, a verse in a powerful play.  Each work I create, and the body of my work as a whole, seems guided by some overarching vision which is hard for me to define and is often fragmentary.  My work rarely seems to fit neatly into any distinct category, but is more like an urge, one that is simultaneously constructive and deconstructive, pushing toward a deeper awareness.”

David Macaluso has studied at Hunter College, the New School, and Parsons School of Design. He has shown his work at the Athens Institute of Contemporary Art in Athens, Georgia; at the Deborah Martin Gallery in Los Angeles; and at Artists Space, the Paula Barr Gallery, and Art Gotham in Manhattan. He was featured in the Saatchi Gallery online and is a member of the Brooklyn Arts Council.