Greenfield, MA • b. 1980
RJ Messineo (b. 1980, Hartford, CT) expands the possibilities of the traditional flat surfaces of painting by physically cutting into and adding onto impasto surfaces while showcasing a variety of palettes, as well as many different painting tempos and emotional tones. The range of realities in Messineo’s faceted materiality is fostered by cutting into the wooden panels, creating possibilities beyond the normal boundaries of painting. The incised holes happen early or later on in the artist’s process, but each time the cuts change the meaning and trajectory of the painting. The holes expose colors and forms beneath the painting, and interrupt brushstrokes and the swelling colorful fields.