Torqued Panel, acrylic and aluminum on panel

John Dante Bianchi is a mixed-media artist whose paintings, sculptures and installations occasionally blur together, borrowing formal aspects from one another. Recently, Bianchi has been working in a subdued yet warm color palette, while playing with the structure of traditional painting.

Torqued Panel, acrylic and aluminum on panel

In Bianchi’s recent works, the idea of the canvas as a flat, static substrate is called into question to great aesthetic effect. In one installation, a set of wood panels are displayed, the surface of each panel warped and bent off its cradle, exposing the raw wood of the structure behind the painting. The paint that’s applied to these boards is subtle, an abstract wash of pale pinks and purples on white. The quiet nature of the paint seems to shift the focus to the structural aspects of the work, without letting the viewer forget that it exists as a painting.

Bianchi also creates works of sculpture, often designed to play off the wall-hanging works. A recent exhibition featured a floor sculpture, Based Figure. The figure looks oddly natural in its formation, like a collection of stalagmites, or an ice formation.

Installation view: Based Figure/Torqued Panels, aqua resin, EPS foam, acrylic and aluminum on panel