by Mario Loprete

Painting is MARIO LOPRETE‘s first love. An important, pure love. The foundation of his painting lies in creating , starting from the spasmodic research of a concept through which he wants to transmit his message. Sculpture is his  lover— his artistic betrayal to painting— Avoluptuous and sensual lover that inspires different emotions which strike forbidden chords.

For his concrete sculptures, he use his personal clothing. In his artistic practice, he uses plaster, resin and cement, and transforms articles of clothing into artworks that can be hung. His DNA and his memory remain inside the ​concrete, so that the person who looks at these sculptures is transformed into a type of postmodern archaeologist, studying his work as urban artifacts.

He likes to think that those who look at his sculptures, created in 2020 ,will be able to perceive the anguish, the vulnerability, the fear that each of us has felt in front of that planetary problem that was COVID-19. Under a layer of cement are the clothes in which he lived through that nefarious period.

The clothes that survived COVID-19 are likened to what survived after the 2,000-year-old catastrophic eruption of Pompeii, which recounts man’s inability to face the tragedy of broken lives and destroyed economies.

Artist Statement

My artwork addresses the mute expression and range of heart-felt emotions experienced by the human race. Art is something people should be able to relate to. Art is a visceral experience that can be accessed by all regardless of race, socioeconomic status, gender, religion, or identity.

HANNA MARIE DEAN WRIGHT is a self-taught folk artist residing in Keavy, Kentucky. She uses her experiences from growing up in rural South-Eastern Kentucky, teaching special education classes, and living with obsessive compulsive disorder to inspire her unique works of art. Hanna Wright uses bold lines and bright colors to create abstract figures with relatable and at times deeply emotional expressions. Hanna was born in Barbourville, Kenucky on April 15th, 1993. Hanna graduated from the University of the Cumberlands in 2015 with degrees in Special Education Behavioral Disabilities and Elementary Education.  

Hanna Wright’s mamaw, Geraldine Scalf, has had a great impact on Hanna’s art career and works as a fellow folk artist residing in Barbourville, Kentucky. Hanna was adopted at the age of 4 and moved from Barbourville to Keavy, Kentucky. She now teaches special education in the Laurel County School District and spends most of her free time creating unique works of art on paper, canvas, wood, and reclaimed scrap materials. Hanna most enjoys drawing her expressive “Starmen” and painting abstract figures and faces on reclaimed wooden panels. 

Hanna Wright’s collection of art contains over 2000 works of art on paper and   over 400 paintings of all sizes. Hanna’s artwork has been gaining popularity on the internet since 2015 and her artwork has been sought after by art galleries on a global scale. Hanna has had opportunities to display her artwork in galleries from Australia to New Mexico. 

SRIN LAHIRI is a Dallas based artist who creates art about the trials facing women of color in order to erase harmful stereotypes.