David De Biasio: The Tradition of the New

With careful attention to both traditional and contemporary values, David De Biasio’s paintings are part of what he likes to call the “tradition of the new”—building on the ideals of classic Italian artistic traditions and viewed through a contemporary lens. Though distinctly Italian, De Biasio’s personal visual revolution occurred in the United States, where he lived from 2003 to 2008, integrating himself into New York’s variegated and lively art scene. He had the opportunity to maintain direct interaction with prominent photorealist painters, which fundamentally enriched his still life paintings. These experiences led De Biasio to a more technical, in-depth pictorial exploration aimed at achieving an extreme realism, which is still deeply rooted in the traditional Italian definition of beauty. 

His most recent body of work, titled “Contaminazioni,” represents the interplay between man and nature. In these paintings, natural elements (such as flowers, plants, branches, fruits, vegetables, earth, clay, and organic matter) are counterposed in relation to artificial elements (such as plastic, styrofoam, plasticine, industrial wastes, and rust). The organic and inorganic are at odds and yet remain harmonious, contaminating each other and, in the process, creating new imaginary subjects. 

De Biasio has been featured in major solo and group exhibitions around the world, including San Francisco, New York, London, Florence, and Toronto.