Art and the City - May 2017
It is a sense you get when you first glance at the painting. You know right away that David Amoroso sees the intricacies as well as the major influences that shape Latino culture within the broader national culture. Identity is more than language or a coincidence of backgrounds; there is a palpable joy of belonging, being a member of the group.
David works with each subject and theme in a distinctive series. Each is really a category of emotional identities. Those emotions may be at their strongest and truest in “Machos” and “Immigration.” David paints portraits of Attitude – the fierce determination and steel pride of those who have had to fight for everything they have, be it in Mexico or the United States.
His paintings, prints, and photographs are mostly portraits, individuals, but his people share more than traditional art and music, food and styles. David fully understands the emotional complexities involved – the beauty of the artistic inheritance that features an historic identity with nature, the rising out of the soil, the dependence on the earth.
He combines motifs that at first seem incongruent, like flower patterns and tough guys. This adds richness to the identity along with the defiance, an emotion that was absorbed from both Spanish and Indian roots.
David also applies his skill to American pop culture of the 50s and 60s: “Americons.” From Elvis and James Dean to Marilyn Monroe and Marlo Thomas, it’s a fun throwback to icons of whom we never seem to tire. They hover in a timeless space all their own.
David lives and has a studio in Arlington. He exhibits all over the metropolitan area, and you can find his work in public and private collections nationally.
Jim Magner’s Thoughts on Art
I grew up in the middle of Latino-land in the 1950s: Tucson, Ariz. But the truth is, I don’t remember the word ever being used. Did it even exist then? Many of my friends had “Spanish” names: Jacome, Lopez, Amado, Salvatierra, Manzo, Molina. Some had Mexican heritage that I didn’t know about, like the Ronstadts and Boyds.
It didn’t matter one peso. Most of these families were prominent merchants, doctors, lawyers, politicians, and very much a part of Tucson’s social fabric.
I also had friends named Jones, Vermeulen, Lundquist, McMillian, Dupuis, Pruzzo, and Kenski. If we thought about it, we would have realized that we had Irish, German, Swedish, French, Dutch, Italian, Polish, and plain old English backgrounds. Everything. We didn’t think about it.
What we all shared was a rich mix of art, music, and traditions. I fell in love with the colors of Mexico, only 60 miles away: pure blues, oranges, lavenders, brilliant yellows, and reds. You could see them in flowers that lit up the trees, climbed the walls, and burst from the cactus.
I loved the Mexican muralists: Rivera, Siqueiros, Orozco. Theirs was the art of the people. The art of the revolution. You can still see that tradition in and around Tucson. We also grew up with American Indian ceremonies and dances on the nearby reservations. We had the cowboy heritage in the annual rodeo and rodeo parade. We had Western music with its tumbleweeds and lonesome prairies. Joyful Mariachis. Jazz clubs and folk music. And rock and roll.
David Amoroso is able to reach into that mix of traditions. He brings visual elements together that give you the personality of the complex Latino culture and its place in the 21st century.
