Wayne Pate
Opening reception: Saturday, December 5, 10 am – 6 pm
Octavia Art Gallery is pleased to present a two-person exhibition, Robert Chiarito & Wayne Pate. This is the first exhibition at Octavia Art Gallery for both of the artists.
In the paintings by Robert Chiarito the figure has always been dominant. Over the course of forty plus years, this figurative presence in his work has evolved stylistically from naturalistic to expressionistic to its current more reductive state of abstraction. Chiarito is inspired by Western classical sculpture because of its naturalistic yet idealized representation of the figure and its overriding sensuality. Viewing the sculptures, paintings and archaeological sites in Italy and Greece have been extremely valuable to the evolution of his work. Having previously pursued a lengthy period of expressionistic figurative work over the past few years, he has been seeking a way to symbolize and combine both male and female attributes without relying upon direct representation. In working to achieve this he created many small experimental drawings that have helped to clarify a new direction in his painting as evidenced in this exhibition.
Based in New Zealand, Wayne Pate’s work focuses on rendering objects and interiors in his signature simplified and sophisticated style. With bold subject matter and fresh color palettes, Pate often uses pieces of canvas or linen to collage and create layers beneath the paint. In his travels, Pate has amassed a collection of historical objects, which include lebrillos, jugs and water pitchers from Spain, ceramics and terra-cotta pieces from Italy and Greece as well as various vessels from Provence, which often recur throughout the work as repeating shapes. Through subtle shifts in size, format, and contrast, these repeating shapes emerge from the subconscious, giving voice where there is none.
Robert Chiarito is currently based in California and received his MFA from Stanford University and his BA from University of California, Santa Cruz. He has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally including the Allan Stone Gallery, NYC; the Triton Museum of Art, CA; Internazionale Dell’Arte Contemporanea (Florence Biennale), Italy; Museum of Art and History of Santa Cruz County, CA; the Museo ItaloAmericano, CA among others. Chiarito’s works are in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC; Lloyds of London, CA; Museum of Art and History of Santa Cruz County, CA; Heritage Bank, CA among additional prominent collections worldwide.
Wayne Pate was raised in Texas and moved to New York in the early 1990’s where he established his career. Pate’s work is included in many notable private collections, such as The Carlyle Hotel, New York and the Palm Heights Hotel, Cayman Islands.