Kevin Ghiglione | Creating with Wax: Kevin Ghiglione

15 March - 9 April 2021
  • Kevin Ghiglione is inspired by the presence of mankind through time - evidences of wear, vestiges of life, and hints...

    Kevin Ghiglione is inspired by the presence of mankind through time - evidences of wear, vestiges of life, and hints of lost knowledge.  Recent work includes references to contemporary science and invention being denied, obfuscated and hidden. Intimately, the artwork is a discovery of the surface that asks the viewer to question what information has been lost.  His smaller works are predominantly created in mixed media acrylic. His large paintings are created with many layers of mixed media encaustic medium manipulated by hiding and excavating elements.  

  • The Art of Encaustic Painting

    Encaustic literally means “created by fire”. Dating back to the 5th century B.C, encaustic paintings are created by melting together natural beeswax and damar (tree) resin.  Colour is added by powder and oil pigments.  The coloured molten wax medium must be applied quickly. The medium exhibits as thick, lush and sculptural.  A torch or heat source - the fire - then fuses the new wax application to the previous wax layer.  The surface can also be scraped and excavated to reveal the history of past layers. Encaustic is a natural medium and speaks directly to your senses. The surface is exotic to the touch. The aroma of honey and beeswax plays to your sense of smell.

  • Pretend, No. 3996, mixed media encaustic on panel, diptych - 76 x 185cm/ 30” x 73”

    ARTIST STATEMENT:

    "I was thinking of a bedroom renovation when creating this artwork. When you remove a wall the old paint is revealed . When you remove a trim board or pictures… old colours are revealed speaking of a past history.

     

    At first it is a single person’s room. Then it becomes a couple’s bedroom. And then a child’s bedroom. I can imagine all the dreams wrapped up in all the bed time stories and ‘good nights’."

     

    And the changes continue. Walls are moved to make more space. Perhaps the growing child’s wishes to paint yet another colour. Maybe adding a closest. Book shelves. And the child grows up and the room continues to transform to become a teenager’s room. Posters. Curtains. Mirrors. The child grows up and moves away and the room is transformed into a guest room. And then a den. Perhaps the evidence collected could be interpreted as a timeline. They flat artwork is like an excavation that reveals periods of time.

     

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  • Whiz Kid No. 3901, encaustic diptych 183cm x 183cm/ 72” x 72”
    Whiz Kid No. 3901, encaustic diptych 183cm x 183cm/ 72” x 72”

    ARTIST STATEMENT:

    "The one child in every class who shines. The whiz kid.

     

    Everything is at one time shiny and new - full of promise and expectations. And when the bumps and scratches happen and a few dents and then the wrinkles… the wondrous thing is not as easy to look at. Everything gets older. Once in a while some selected things around us get better with age. This painting started out as a signage mashup. Painted. Overpainted. Adjusted. Repaired. Lost. But still a little bit of the spark shows through showing us that at least part of the prophecy really did exist and maybe some part of it has come true.

     

    Everything was once shiny and new - full of promise and expectations. Old and beaten up. Repaired. Obscured. And then lost. The name 'Whiz Kid' comes from the one child in every class who shines. Sometimes the anointed child will falter and fail. Sometimes the whiz kid will shine through and champion thinking and thought. Does the promise still hold true?"

     

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  • Drama Queen No. 3974, diptych mixed media encaustic, 152cm x 152cm/ 60” x 60”
    Drama Queen No. 3974, diptych mixed media encaustic, 152cm x 152cm/ 60” x 60”

    ARTIST STATEMENT:

    "This painting is like a time machine where I try to touch upon memories or snapshots of a feeling. I offer a passive moment to the viewer.

     

    I admire old typography - the hand sign painted word is not important. Rather, the painted typeface is an art that suggests a certain time. I am intrigued with lost messages, lost communication and obscured knowledge.

     

    This painting is a kind of a blend of my own memories. Perhaps the signage is something I am pulling from my own past.  The colours of the painting suggest a different time period. the floral suggestion is perhaps from old wall paper, a fabric pattern, or upholstery patteron a couch, drapery or pillows.

     

    The painting is old and asks for your attention - and yet it invites the viewer to come closer and see the details."


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  • Plotting Against Gravity No. 3990, mixed media 68.5cm x 152cm/ 27” x 60”

    ARTIST STATEMENT:

    "A message of hope, dreams and perseverance. Any previous stage of human history would view today’s technology as magic. Scientific thinking has granted us much magic for the human race. And there will always be naysayers.

     

    When working on "Plotting Against Gravity” I wanted to bury the thinking, the science and calculations beneath the surface. Here and there the evidences are being exposed. It is a messy affair with some back and forth, debate and convincing needing to be done. Here, the idea of flight is used as an analogy to achieving the success of heavier-than-air objects. Human kind has to be calculating and aggressive to defeat the captivity of gravity. If we were to let things flow as they come, we would never be flying in the air - let alone traversing the earth via any kind of vehicle or transportation. I have somehow started to use the wireframe symbol of a zeppelin. The wire line drawing suggests a retro feeling while also suggesting innovation."

     

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  • Watch as Kevin Explains his Artistic Process