Mark DeMaio - The Judas Kiss

Mark DeMaio - The Judas Kiss
  • Title: The Judas Kiss
  • Dimensions: 36 x 48
  • Materials: Oil on Canvas
  • Primary Medium: Oils
  • Year Created: 2011
  • Price: $5,000
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Artwork Description


My new works, "POP GOES THE BIBLE" opening on December 6th at 6PM at SYNCHRONICITY FINE ART, 106 West 13th Street NYC 10014 reimagines iconic bible imagery. I am exploring the juxtaposition of classic painting techniques for the backgrounds, referencing Dali, Van Gogh, Lautrec, as well as artists as campy as Bob Ross, then creating the main characters of the bible replaced with highly recognizable cartoon characters in a pop art style, flat, 2d images with heavy and stylized black outlines. Together they trick the eye. At first you know the characters, and you know the settings and then your mind has to grasp that they have been placed together to create a completely new viewing experience. Each cartoon character has been carefully thought out to portray his or her biblical counterpart. Foghorn Leghorn as MOSES, Minnie Mouse as MAry Magdalane, Betty Boop as Salome, etc etc...The piece I am choosing to include here is The Judas Kiss. This piece represents the kiss Judas had given The Christ before his betrayal to the Romans. Here we have Elmer Fudd and Judas and Bugs Bunny as the Christ. The painting explores a more romantic setting than perhaps considered before. Many of the Gospels explain the kiss as a passionate experience or love and betrayal. The entire show draws on these references. The final piece for the show, that I am in the process of completing is The Crucifixion Of Dali Duck-Duckis Hypercubis. An homage to Dali's Corpus Hypercubis and Donald Duck, it's simply spellbinding to view. Thank you for reading this and considering my work. Best Mark DeMaio

Mark DeMaio

Mark DeMaio

ARTIST’S STATEMNT I study the masters from many schools/movements. The romantics, impressionists, the expressionists, abstract expressionists, modern painters, pop artists. I learn form each of them as I constantly challenge myself to explore the use of color, texture and imagery. Learning as much as I can about these techniques constantly opens new and unexplored territories for me to explore. The journey I am on with my new work is to create paintings that are an homage’ to great painters and their works, while juxtaposing modern iconography into the paintings. In these paintings I reference modern iconic images, that are transfixed in our minds, and incorporate them with other well know images to create a whole new experience. It becomes a trick to the eye, and mind, where the viewer believes they are looking at something that they are completely familiar with until it registers and their traditional understanding of the image changes. I want them to re-examine and reassess what they thought was known – thus allowing them to address and accept the re-imagined work. I am working in a completely new way than I did for my last show. This effort is going to focus on a much more personal level of painting. I am focusing on the application of paint as opposed to the narrative of the work. Although the narrative story of each painting will become obvious, it is through the blending of different techniques on each canvas that I am attempting to change the discourse. An example of this is the lush realistic background that contains a one-dimensional cartoon cutout. The images will still be mine, that’s unavoidable but I am growing and expanding as a painter, trying to force myself out of a comfort zone and explore new techniques. As an artist I don’t believe we can sit still and continue to paint the same things the same way over and over, everything becomes too stagnant. If I’m not learning and trying to better express myself through color and texture then I’d rather quit all together.

Website: markdemaio.com

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1 review

  • Mark DeMaio
    Tuesday, 08 November 2011 12:33 | posted by Mark DeMaio

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