DVAA Member since 2017
Pia De Girolamo
Website:
About:
Pia De Girolamo is an accomplished painter living and working in the Greater Philadelphia area whose recent exhibitions featured large-scale paintings based on abstracted mountain landscapes, as well as a series evoking the urban landscapes of Rome and Italy. She has had thirteen solo exhibitions, most recently at the Museo Mastroianni, within the Musei di San Salvatore in Lauro in Rome and the Cerulean Arts Gallery in Philadelphia. She has also shown extensively in group exhibitions regionally. De Girolamo has a BA in Art History from Barnard College, Columbia University and an MD degree from the University of Rochester. She lectures on the relationship between art and medicine as well as the connections between art, nature, and health. Her awarded work has been acquired for collections by the Museo Mastroianni, Rome, PNC Bank, Pittsburgh, PA and Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia and has been highlighted in Hollywood feature films.
Artist Statement:
“In my recent paintings, the Mountain Series, and Being There: the Rome Series, my aim is to project the essence of place, which arises from interacting forms and color combinations, and not to present a faithful representation of particular sights. With the Mountain Series, the sense of being in the moment and acknowledging the physicality of the act of painting is a touchstone that informs my studio practice, and thus mirrors my experience of being in the outdoors. I work from memory, referring occasionally to my travel sketchbook, photographs, and smaller preparatory sketches to guide the creation of the painting. Though I may start with a general direction I leave myself open to big changes as I paint, much like planning a route ahead of time through a wild place and having to revise and reroute as unexpected obstacles arise. I leave room for chance and intuition to enter into the process. The paintings evolve, sometimes more representationally, sometimes more abstractly, and while some refer to real places, others spring from composite memories of shapes or vistas. All are a record of what is for me of the essence in these landscapes, whether they are in Iceland, the Canadian Rockies, or the American Southwest. In the case of the Roman and Italian urban landscape, the language of forms encompasses a variety of geometric shapes, including apartment blocks, triangular roofs, and domes but there is also an interplay with natural forms like the iconic umbrella pines and other trees that line the street or are found in the parks. Being there, in Rome, I had the opportunity to investigate the aesthetics of a unique setting.”
Exhibitions at DVAA:
