Private Air New York

www.privateairny.com Private Air | Winter 2019/2020 60 ART Contemporary Trompe l'Oeil Master, Anthony Mastromatteo's intriguing, eccentric works that evoke deep-thought through impressive illusions on view at Rehs Contemporary NY. DECEIVING THE EYE By: Bella Kalt ANTHONY MASTROMATTEO B. 1970 Experience Oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches Signed $14,000.00 ANTHONY MASTROMATTEO B. 1970 Intoxication (The Red Line) Oil on panel 12 x 12 inches signed $2,000.00 ANTHONY MASTROMATTEO B. 1970 A City Upon A Hill Oil on canvas 36 x 48 inches Signed $18,500.00 T rompe l 'Oeil is French for "to deceive the eye", an historical tradition in which artists fool us into believing we are gazing at the actual object. Imagine looking at a painted fly that is so real that you want to swat it away, or a painted loaf of bread so real that birds will fly down to peck it. at's trompe l 'oeil, an art form that makes us challenge the limits between the painted world and ours. And no one does this quite like Anthony Mastromatteo who is a modern day master of the technique. Mastromatteo compels us to examine what exactly it is we are looking at… is it the real deal, or merely an image of something depicted? Quite simply, the artist wishes to impart that what the viewer is looking at is… paint. Indeed, his supersized renderings of comics taped to stark backdrops are so familiar and realistic that it is easy to think of it as an old comic strip taped to a panel. e artist himself explains his thinking about his work as a selection of tools and habits based on: "e placement of important elements in relationship to the realization of an ever-present persistence of play, experimentation and openness as vital to a healthy and lifelong creative orientation. If this last element is not present and nurtured, then the first two will eventually become stale." e real truth is that his work is more than paint on a canvas or letters on a page… we are observing ideas and the meanings that definitely run deep in the body of his work. Take for instance Mastromatteo's word/image work Advent, which features the words "wait" and "weight" paired with a pocket-watch supported by the watch's hands. Conventionally the word Advent alludes to the weeks of waiting and preparing for Christmas. One can simplying take this work to mean that you are waiting for something of significance. He cleverly juxtaposing the words to signify the weight of waiting for the best moments in life, while visually depicting the "weight" of time. Whether a comic, a poem or simply the tip of a pencil, this Contemporary Trompe l 'Oeil Master challenges the viewer with truly convincing visual illusions. Perhaps it is just some paint on a canvas, or an old comic depicting Superman flying over the New York skyline, or maybe, just maybe it is something more than that. A collection of works by Anthony Mastromatteo are on view at Rehs Contemporary Gallery, who invites art lovers of all kinds, from first-time buyers to major collectors to view his technical mastery and eccentric tendencies.

• Cover