Pencils Exp7 2018

Alfio Giuffrida made "Pencils Exp7" with what looks like precise lines and some very interesting colors. The pencils remind me that artmaking is a process, and those lines are all important steps on the road to completion. Looking closer, I see how Giuffrida plays with texture. The color palette brings to mind the flat, graphic planes of Pop Art, but with a handmade touch. The paint isn't trying to hide, you know? The opacity of the forms is very evident. There's a red, cartoon-like face floating between the two pencils. It is a real anchor for the eye. In a way this is what painting is, taking what you see around you and making it into a new world. It makes me think a little bit of Elizabeth Murray, another artist who liked to play with the shapes and forms of everyday life. What I love about art is that it doesn't have to make sense. It's like life, constantly changing and always up for interpretation.