Fine Artist, Painter, American, Expat living in South Korea
SOLAR LAP 60
I started this group of paintings on my 60th birthday, around the time of the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 5 months ago. It is my 60th lap around our Sun. One piece, REPO JINDO, was started two years ago and is included in this set.
The new work is a reflection on life and mortality, and, among other things, my identifying with my cats and with animals in general. Solar Lap 60 is ongoing, and there will be more.
This work had been completed just before I am about to relocate to a better studio/house elsewhere in South Korea.
All images Copyright Paul Fortunato 2022. All rights reserved.
I now present my new set of 12 paintings titled OPEN SEASON. They were completed over the last 6 months, starting in August 2021.
As in most of my paintings there are layers of interwoven meaning and anecdote. The recurring themes of nature conservation, ethical treatment of animals and commentary on our digital society persist. ‘Open Season’ is a direct reference to trophy hunting. The eco vigilante in me will never go away. There is also the self referential aspect, just like in the last set, ‘Who Am I?’. OPEN SEASON became expansive in scope, encompassing the idea of time, as in the seasons, and the seasons of one’s lifespan. And for additional seasoning, I threw in some sociopolitical heat.
It is inevitable that whatever an artist paints, his or her personal circumstances and state of mind at that moment will find its way into the mix and dominate it.
One night in September 2021 I experienced extreme blood loss from a ruptured hemorrhoid and severe dehydration from diarrhea. I became so weak I collapsed to the floor and injured my face, requiring stitches on my upper lip. I went to the emergency room of the local hospital and was admitted there for 8 days. Before the real cause of the bleeding was detected and corrected with surgery, I required 6 blood transfusions.
Needless to say, the wonderful hospital staff, doctors and anonymous blood donors saved my life. I am grateful to still be alive.
The physical experience of intense rectal anguish and the unforgettable prospect of having almost died naturally found its way into the new work, which had already been in progress for months. I developed a new relationship and perspective on blood, my blood, as I lay around for hours watching the liquid organ slowly enter my depleted bloodstream, drop by drop, from a suspended blood unit.
The hospital downtime was like a mandatory vacation for me. It allowed me time to think about my life, mortality and where will I go from here once I am finished with the professorship. It also made me confront the question of what will happen to my estate, i.e., my life’s output of work, once I am gone. In that sense, OPEN SEASON, with 12 paintings, is my midlife calendar. You pick the painting and you match the month, its open to your interpretation.
A painting in progress is a condensed relationship. From the work’s inception on a blank piece of primed linen, with a few gestural strokes, the conversation begins. The failure rate is high at this stage, and if an image doesn’t work it may take many rewrites before I get any traction. There is also the test of time, which can take weeks to months. Usually at this point I do the mirror test, that is, look at the image backwards in a mirror. If it works backwards, it will also work forwards. When the relationship survives all the hurdles, I will run with it to the logical endpoint. As is my method, I work on the entire set of paintings simultaneously, so there are many conversations going on at the same time. When a piece is done, a sense of emptiness sets in. The relationship is over. The partner is no longer alive.
All works Copyright 2022 Paul Fortunato. All rights reserved.
To view images in Sensurround please open them in a new tab. :]
ROADKILLER 2 ( SORRY THE BRIDGE IS CLOSED)
2021
Acrylic on linen, 166 X 118 cm., 65.5 X 46.75 in.
TROPHY
2021
Acrylic on linen, 167 X 146.5 cm., 65.5 X 57.75 in.
I NEEDED SOME AIR
2021
Acrylic on linen, 167 X 168.5 cm., 66 X 66.5 in.
AMAZING GRACE
2021
Acrylic on linen, 147 X 166.5 cm., 57.5 X 65.75 in.
OUTPATIENT
2021
Acrylic on linen, 167 X 222.5 cm., 65.6 X 87.5 in.
REENTERING EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE(HEAT SHIELD)
2021
Acrylic on linen, 167 X 222.5 cm., 65.75 X 87.5 in.
SHISKABARBERRA AND THE REVENGE OF THE HEMORRHOIDS
2021
Acrylic on linen, 167 X 170.5 cm., 66 X 67 in.
ROADKILLER 3
2021
Acrylic on linen, 167 X 171 cm., 65.5 X 67.5 in.
DON’T FUCK YOURSELF
2021
Acrylic on linen, 166 X 187.5 cm., 65.5 X 74 in.
GIBBONCAT
2021
Acrylic on linen, 167 x 171 cm., 65.5 X 67.5 in.
THE DREADFUL DEATH OF ANOTHER CRUEL, INDIFFERENT DINODOG OWNERMOTHERFUCKER
All works were begun mid January, 2021, and the very last ones were finished on July 30, 2021. 36 paintings.
WHO AM I?
I am the protagonist in every one of these rectangles. They are all self portraits.
For horizontal images please open them in a new tab for optimal viewing. They are all the largest works.
All images Copyright (C) Paul Fortunato 2021. All rights reserved.
BRUSH KILLER
acrylic on canvas
110.5 X 80.5 cm., 43.5 X 32 in.
DOWN
acrylic on canvas
116.5 X 91 cm., 46 X 36 in.
VULNERABLE
acrylic on canvas
116.5 X 91 cm., 46 X 36 in.
COFFIN NAILER
acrylic on canvas
109 X 95 cm., 43 X 37.25 in.
INSULATING RING OF LIGHT
acrylic on wood crate panel
109 X 81 cm., 43 X 31.75 in.
COMPOUND VISION
acrylic on wooden panel
109 X 72 cm., 43.25 X 28.25 in.
ECHO CHAMBER
acrylic on wooden crate panel
109 X 95 cm., 43 X 37.5 in.
COOLING TOWERS
acrylic on wooden crate panel
119.5 X 121 cm., 47 X 47.75 in.
ARIES
acrylic on linen
140 X 149.5 cm., 55.25 X 59 in.
BACCHUS
acrylic on linen
152 x 114 cm., 60 X 44.75 in.
SELF PORTRAIT WITH LOADED BRUSH
acrylic on linen
160 X 153 cm., 63 X 60 in.
I SEE THINGS IN OTHER THINGS
acrylic on linen
171 X 125 cm., 67 X 49 in.
EMOJI KILLER
acrylic on linen
124 X 170 cm., 49 X 67 in.
THE BRUSH OFF
acrylic on canvas
122 X 172 cm., 48 X 67.75 in.
MIGHTY DRYWALL TAPER
acrylic on canvas
155 X 140 cm., 61.25 X 55 in.
No! YES!
acrylic on canvas
106.5 X 160 cm., 42 X 63 in.
ARCHER (BABY ORANGUTANG)
acrylic on linen
99 X 134 cm., 39.25 X 53 in.
MIGHTY RABBIT
acrylic on linen
110.5 X 80.5 cm., 43.5 X 32 in.
NICE ASS
acrylic on linen
124.5 X 171 cm., 49 X 66.5 in.
ROADKILLER
acrylic on linen
167 X 125 cm., 76.5 X 65.5 in.
THE LOVE LOST CONSTELLATION
acrylic on canvas
194 X 166 cm., 76.5 X 65.5 in.
ANTEATER (SMART CITY)
acrylic on linen
217 X 135 cm., 85 X 53 in.
WET MARKET ESCAPE
acrylic on linen
152 X 185.5 cm., 60 X 73 in.
THE MARATHON RUNNER
acrylic on linen
108 x 218 cm., 43 X 86 in.
FAILING TO FORGET YOU (FOREVER IN MY HEART)
acrylic on linen
139 X 175 cm., 54.5 X 69 in.
UNTITLED(WORKAHOLIC)
acrylic on canvas
167 x 100 cm., 66 x 39.5 in.
OLD KOREAN LADY, RETURNING HOME
acrylic on linen
181.5 X 121 cm., 74 X 48 in.
FACE REMOVAL APP
acrylic on linen
152 X 201 cm., 60 X 79.5 in.
TAIL CHASER
acrylic on linen
152 X 171 cm., 60 X 67 in.
MEIN WAGEN
acrylic on linen
152 X 188 cm., 60 X 74 in.
ALREADY DEAD
acrylic on linen
172 X 224 cm., 66 X 88 in.
SIAMESE TWIN CENTAUR DROWNING HALF OF ITSELF
acrylic on linen
185 X 217 cm., 73.5 X 85 in.
HORSEFLY
acrylic on linen
167 X 266.5 cm., 66 X 105 in.
INFINITE GHARIAL
acrylic on linen
166 X 299 cm., 118 X 65.75 in.
RUFF ‘N’ READY
acrylic on linen
109.5 x 211 cm., 42.75 X 83 in.
JACKALOPE
acrylic on linen
167 X 208 cm., 66 X 83 in.
Hello all.
The year 2020 was a bad year for almost everyone, myself included. I stopped painting entirely and only got my game back since January 2021, after Joe Biden had officially won the presidential election. Since that time I have been working on my new block of paintings titled WHO AM I?
From June 22 to July 4, Will Pertz, a musician and digital sound installation artist, and myself are renting out the cavernous Daejeon Gallery, here in Daejeon, South Korea, for a 12 day ongoing live painting and music performance. During that time I will continue to work on ‘Who Am I?’, finish works, start new ones, and spread them all out to get a good look at all of it before it is finally documented by my photographer friend.
Also participating is Boon, a native Korean painter, and other artists are welcome to find a wall and create.
The gallery was formerly a gymnasium, part of a larger school complex built during the Japanese occupation. I will recreate the Ossining, New York studio experience, back in 2013, when I was able to run in what was a former Opera house. I will turn the gallery into a public studio, bringing all my equipment and supplies.
The last set of paintings completed before relocating to an old farmhouse. My lockdown block, which, for this natural hermit, has already been a way of life. All created in the Republic of Korea.
To view images at correct relative scale, please right click and open in a new tab.
New 2019 Paintings Completed Just As The Year Ended.
Let’s call this Volume 1, as I am already at work on Volume 2, with a deeper exploration of similar themes. In this set, itself an expansion on SIMPLEXITY from earlier last year, I express my views on Environmentalism, the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Childhood Memories, Nature’s Revenge, Death by Bandwidth, and of course, Music. Where would humanity be without it, especially now, in these dark times? Where would I be, if I were not able to paint to it? In a hospital maybe, missing one or both ears. The family next door is completely unaware that I am blissfully losing my mind, taking on today’s big issues with a loaded brush. In the relative safety of my Sony MDR-RF985RK wireless stereo headphones, despite being within farting range of North Korea’s WMDs, nobody can touch me.
To view horizontal images at correct scale please open them in a new tab. Thank you.
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