In Mr. Antonio Adriano Puleo’s Una Cosa È Una Cosa at Lowell Ryan Projects, we are confronted with a positive query on the stature of originality when working with geometrical precepts. The circle, the square, the parallelogram, even the line, have all been done before. What then, to make of a work which composes them all in a flurry, yet methodically? Is it a good thing to produce for our eyes to experience?

Mercoledì (Wednesday) 2022. Antonio Adriano-Puleo. Oil and Flashe on linen. 84″x45″. Courtesy of the artist and Lowell Ryan Projects.

Febbraio (February) 2021. Oil and flashe on canvas. 28″x15″. Courtesy of the artist and Lowell Ryan Projects.

Such a condensation on the immortal efforts at achieving permanent formations are relieved through the masterful craftsmanship, of the severe seriousness to detail, of all of the shapes regimented by Mr. Puleo, yet not bludgeoned, together. We have, in other words, a symphony, delicately imposing upon our souls an idea of order; yet with such a hidden touch until one peers deeply into the details. And yet further, is the extensive effort worthy of such a foray?

Installation View. Courtesy of the artist and Lowell Ryan Projects.

Why are these shapes beautiful to begin with? Possibly because they are feats of reason. Why then is reason a beautiful attribute? Perhaps because with reason we have agreement. That is, three lines agree causing a form in space – the triangle. Such certainty gives our mind a harmonious occurrence, a place of peace, away from the hazards of havoc. And yet, how many ways can a shape be pictured without losing its sense of novelty?

I am happy to report that Mr. Puleo does a phenomenal job of never boring. The wordless efforts at avoiding repeating, i.e. being derivative, with his own works is its own feat worthy of commendation. Never do any of the compositions appear redundant ergo imitative and doldrum. His confidence extends into the magnitudes and colors of his artworks; his dexterity in not boring is its own invisible triumph.

Perhaps, then, the goal of achieving a permanent sense of harmony; of recognizing an eternal order beyond ourselves yet which contains our paths; even towards arriving at such magnificent resonances; is  The Good? Perhaps this is the aim of High Art? If it is, then it is easily accomplished by the Fine Artist, who affirms the permanently unchanging as something worthy of inundation.

The media Mr. Antonio Adriano Puleo extends himself into, including an homage to Henri Matisse’s Rosary Chapel, does not tire in an almost private obsession breathing openly. Is it wrong to be obsessed with love? Then why would it be wrong to be so immersed in truth? What, then, is the truth, if not permanently unchanging?