Maria Pia Taverna in her studio Artist Maria Pia Taverna has received critical acclaim in her native Italy and when one looks at her work, it is easy to see the reason why. Her powerfully striking images, the skillful combination of media, and the resulting emotional affect the pieces have marks Taverna out as a highly accomplished creative talent. Her technical approach is unique—she works with her own digital images on a computer, and usually printing in monochrome, prints them directly onto canvas once they have reached a satisfactory stage. Taverna then uses oil paints to work into the image, impregnating the surface with vibrant color that looks all the more arresting for the monotonous pallet on which it sits. Fiery reds and yellows, and deep oceans of blue illuminate the canvas. The surface texture of the canvas gives the prints a delicate texture, the paint heightening the painterly quality of the digital images. These prints also allow a greater sense of chiaroscuro, as light and dark tones are represented in a way that light actually falls on objects. This juxtaposition of realism and heightened surrealism drives the tension in the paints and adds to their mystery.

Taverna’s printed figures are themselves a part of the mystery. Her images are at once explicit and obscure—the female face, the angles of the arm and curve of the back, those signifiers of femininity, and faces bruised by the heavy pigments of make-up—all appear ghost-like through her works.

They emerge from the shadows, as does the artist, making her mark evident through the digital print, yet reasserting the brushmark as the true signature of the artist.

Maria Pia Taverna, born in Cutro, currently lives and works in the city of Turin in her native Italy. For her, the act of painting represents a constant and tireless search for the expression of her own psyche. It is a tribute to her artistic abilities, drive and sensitivity that such a personal life work resonates so powerfully with others.

www.mariapiataverna.it

www.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Maria_Pia_Taverna.aspx