Joseph D. Carrier Gallery

Nick Biagini and Domenic Piluso began their friendship while growing up in the Danforth and Coxwell area of Toronto and attending St. Brigid Elementary School. The friendship continued throughout high school and into adulthood. One night, while out with friends, Biagini and Piluso began to discuss their passion: Biagini for painting and Piluso for photography. During the discussion, the conversation turned to how the duo could mesh their two disciplines into a form of art that was innovative, and that is how the photography/painting collaboration between the two artists emerged.

Piluso has visited many parts of Italy and throughout his journeys has established thematic photographs of iconic buildings, rustic doorways, and time-worn streets in ancient villages. For this exhibit, A Taste of Italy, the Piluso and Biagini decided to focus on iconic buildings – such as the Coliseum in Rome and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, to name a few – then to transfer the photographs of these buildings onto canvas. They decided on a monochromatic colour for the photos, with Biagini adding oil paint to sections of the canvas. The result is a very appealing form of contemporary art that combines the realism of a photograph and the texture of an oil painting. The two artists called their creations the Ph-Art Movement.

The style not only lends itself to landscape and streetscapes, but also to portraiture. The artists are planning to eventually embark on a portraiture exhibit.