Artist Statement
Luigi Terruso

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Irresistible Impiulse​

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The paintings you see before you began their evolution in 2009 as a starburst motif both intricate and simple at the same time.  The visual energy of this symbol interfaced easily with such metaphors as, metamorphosis, ever expanding energy, and, of course, the themes of birth and death.  From this irresistible impulse new forms, worlds and even characters developed.  Fascinating permutations burst forth and subdivided, fractured, and recombined into something completely new. Was that a face peeking out at me? Or some kind of amazing biomorphic cartoon landscape?  My process has always been one of discovery, not premeditation, and as a result the surprises kept on coming.  I became fond of one of the characters whom I named The Entity.  It kept mutating and transforming into other versions of itself.  Are they abstractions?  Yes.  Are they portraiture?  Indeed.  

This past year I established pop-up studios near Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia, as well as in a mountain village outside of Cuenca, Ecuador. My recent travels -18 new countries in 24 months - have had a stimulating impact on my new work as well.  During this period, I have taken more than 100,000 photographs.  The results from this visual feast are nested in my work: patterns of plastic toys piled high outside the hutongs of Shanghai, rusty and grease covered industrial objects on the street in Ho Chi Min City, intricate and delightful stickers and designs from the long-distance trucks of India. 

So this series of paintings are truly international in scope and feeling. I hope you feel transported into other worlds as you contemplate them.

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                                                                                          South Kent, Connecticut

                                                                                          9/9/2016