Jonathan Casella
Jonathan Casella's paintings investigate the possibilities and relationships between color, pattern and form. The works are bold and graphic, imbued with playfulness and a pop sensibility. Casella employs an idiosyncratic visual syntax, combining it with his commanding use of color. His brilliantly hued works are built up from the canvas, the surfaces layered and textured, imitating the effect of collage. Casella creates a sense of movement-the rhythm, meter and dance of life-in these works by superimposing simplified patterns and colors. Working within a set visual vocabulary, the repeating forms periodically divert and morph from the initial structure, serving as vessels of expression and visual experimentation. With this approach, each element offers a partial suggestion, allowing the whole to be viewed in collective terms. The artist also sometimes incorporates his name as a compositional motif.