Below is a review of Antonio Forte's show, Circles and Squares. Running until 2/28.
His opening night at the Artist's Exchange in Cranston left most people wondering, what can we do with such a man?
My favorite piece though was "Music for Moths, Part II," a couple dozen moths strung over and wired into an old pink piano. At one point a boy came to it and began to press the keys. He was disappointed at first that the moths wouldn't flap, so he pounded harder and harder until they were all jittering and dancing, the piano was shaking and people were laughing.
Well done Mr. Forte. You made an avante-garde of us all. And with just some string, wire and canvas, no less.
His opening night at the Artist's Exchange in Cranston left most people wondering, what can we do with such a man?
For me, art is. Period. But for Mr. Antonio Forte art is becoming: a painting spun by a clock, coffee grounds that percolated a musical score, secret creatures exploring secret landscapes.
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My favorite piece though was "Music for Moths, Part II," a couple dozen moths strung over and wired into an old pink piano. At one point a boy came to it and began to press the keys. He was disappointed at first that the moths wouldn't flap, so he pounded harder and harder until they were all jittering and dancing, the piano was shaking and people were laughing.
Well done Mr. Forte. You made an avante-garde of us all. And with just some string, wire and canvas, no less.
He tricked, guided, danced us into self expression. He confounded us, excited us, inflamed us, entertained us, and in the experience we found ourselves pleased, and surprised to be so. His work doesn't always go down easy but no matter how hard it clangs or convexes, there's always a veneer of something captivating that I can only explain as the artist himself. A quirky melancholy? A mad playfulnesss? A childish refinement maybe?
Perhaps in the end, shwaddle shweeple shwaileetu is the best compliment I can give to artist Antonio Forte, a worthy caretaker of circles and squares. See them if you can.
