Elegy , 2012, acrylic on canvas, 48x36 in. From the Press Release: While working within the historical lineage of abstraction in New York, Vince Contarino operates within a specific and clearly-defined approach to painting. Central to Contarino’s work is a balancing act articulating form, pattern, and movement throug h his materials with a sensitivity to painting’s esoteric tendencies as an art form. By negotiating a space which simultaneously embraces the tight stylistic language of graphic relationships, while also subverting the same with a keen awareness of gesture and materiality, Contarino entices the viewer with immediate, slashing gestures and slow, deliberate forms. These decisions act as a control mechanism taming the wild anima of painterly expression, while imbuing hard-edge uniformity with a graceful independence. In constructing the paintings through formal invention, he is also playing with the idea of abstraction as a subjective exp...