Daniel Finaldi
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Embassy exhibition

5/30/2016

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Yesterday afternoon my wife gave me a call and asked me, "did you know the Art in Embassy program published a wonderful catalog with you work in it?"
Of course I could not know that, and so it was a surprise to get the catalog in the mail.
The catalog is entitled, "United States Embassy Djibouti/ Art in Embassies Exhibition.
And it is probably the nicest catalog I have ever had the opportunity to be in.
The images include my work along with the other artists who are in this 3 year show.
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Interview with Dan Bischoff

1/9/2015

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   About one month ago now, I was contacted by Dan Bischoff ( art critic of the Star Ledger) for an interview.
Bischoff is an articulate writer who is rare in that he actually writes about painting!  One would imagine that the New York Times would do an equally fine job covering painting in the region, but those days are gone.
   In fact most painters I know never get a review of any quality at all.  That is the sad fact of our times, and so it is with great appreciation that I am able to say that Bischoff reviewed my work at Farleigh Dickinson and gave me a full page spread.
   Here is the interview posted today on NJ.com.

   http://www.nj.com/entertainment/arts/index.ssf/2015/01/art_review_dan_finaldi--capturing_life_in_the_studio_at_fairleigh_dickinson_university_in_hackensack.html



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Farleigh Dickinson Calendar

12/28/2014

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Better later than never, but Farleigh Dickinson University has managed to update their calendar so that it reflects my show.

Here is the link to the University calendar.

http://view2.fdu.edu/fdu-whats-new/press-releases/2014/12/daniel-finaldi/
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Exhibition "Capturing Life in the Studio"

12/5/2014

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Capturing Life in the Studio

Exhibit at the Edward Williams Gallery
Farleigh Dickinson University


Since 2001 when I first began to teach in the public school system, I’ve been working on a series of pictures which incorporate my students in the school and in the studio.

It was a natural choice to work from the place where I teach.  And given how alien teaching can be for an artist, painting the environment and the people I am with attaches the space and the people more intimately to me.

I never enjoyed school life as a young person-it was factory like, utilitarian and ugly.  Not much has changed over the years.  But from my perspective as a teacher I can offer an environment that is different for my students.

The art class work a space that is an alternative space for “creatives” to loosen up, think and combine that sentiment with a steady ethic of hard and joyful work.  The pictures in this show are completely done on location and from life.  Two of the images venture out to other areas of the school; one is near the gym and the other in the culinary arts bakery.

The young people who occupy this work space-the space that we share intrigue me and inspire me to capture them. 

My paintings are what I call Realism and they show the "reality" where I work and my effort is to depict young people who are increasingly ignored as individuals with dreams.  The data driven madness of institutionalized
corporatized” efficiency oriented education precludes individuality.  The politicians in charge argue that this new pressure cooker called “school” is allegedly preparing young people for the “real world”.


My inspiration is to capture young people as they are with dignity. 

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Fall in full swing

10/21/2014

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Fall is here and painters like me know it full well in so far as the colors in the landscape are deliriously beautiful and the air is getting colder for painting.   That is the conundrum with painters who love to be on the spot experiencing the environment as I paint it.
Fortunately I have just completed a painting on a New Jersey farm while the temperature was still in the upper 60's.  That image with the strong directional light, a farmer, his chickens and guinea hens was fun to paint.  It also came together very quickly.  I suppose the quick transitional quality of the season pushes me along in a surprising way. 
The image will soon be photographed and posted so stay tuned. 
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Some thoughts on my latest painting 

7/16/2014

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Realism for me involves at least two major ambitions.  They may be equally important to me.
The first is to wrestle with the nuts and bolts of composition, drawing, paint quality etc.  The image has to work and that is a process.
The second is what I am saying.  Realism has an especially difficult task, namely images that reflect the visible world begs the question about why or what is being expressed.
I used to be petrified with that question but now I am thrilled by it.
I am attached to this world and to how people bring a narrative to a space.  People have dignity, a soul and are intrinsically worthy of respect.  
The irony is that I am discovering that I am becoming more sensitive to how our culture and economic system treats human beings as disposal and interchangeable rather than the opposite.
As I paint the students who surround my life as a teacher, I love to paint these young people with the dignity they deserve.  
In this image young people engage in conversation and in enjoying each others company.  
That narrative is appealing and exciting to capture.
Picture

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Pearlstein's 90th Birthday 

5/10/2014

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Picture


I was fortunate to have been invited to Philip Pearlstein's 90th birthday party.  My respect for Philip has grown steadily over the years.  Even though I had only one semester in Philip's class, I am grateful for having had the opportunity to study with him.  His steadfastness to daily painting has had a remarkable impact on me. 

The party for Philip was held at Betty Cunningham Gallery who was a gracious and kind host.  Philip's short speech was humble and he offered gratitude for the help he has received over the years.

A remarkable career notwithstanding, Philip's work has attracted scorn from many over the years as it does today.   I am increasingly impatient with the pettiness of art criticism, and I am especially upset with how little kindness  artists show to their peer artists.  Of course artists have the right to reject another artist's aesthetic.  But quite frankly, had it not been for Philip Pearlstein's contribution to Contemporary Realism, I am not sure the door to painting the figure would have been opened as widely as it is.   The bottom line is as my friend Mel Leipzig said that  night,
"I owe Pearlstein a lot."  Yes Mel I agree but  we all owe Pearlstein a lot.
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Some thoughts about my interest in the figure

5/5/2014

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Having finished a large painting of my students with another one on the way, I have had some time to think about my interest in the figure.
And while I cannot fully articulate why I love painting people, it is an experience that continually energizes me.
I have to reiterate that my experience is a direct painting experience, meaning it is from life on the spot from start to finish.  To put it simply, I just love it.

Picture
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    Daniel Finaldi

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