Description:

Legend has it that after viewing Giotto’s mural in the Scovegni chapel in Padua, Italy, Dante humbly remarked of his young friend, “It seems to be that this chapel has been painted by the tongues of angels.” I am a disciple of Giotto.

I work to create an illuminating richness. The style is majestic and the scale massive and courageous. I work with authority based on the integrity and dignity of individual forms. I fill my work with a broad pageant of creatures, prophets, misfits and gods. I seek unexpected consequences especially in the narrative detail. Viewing these paintings is also to join in their drama and recognize one’s self in the panorama of saviours and scoundrels.

I am enchanted by the glorious gradations of white, ochre, cinnabar, crimson, emeralds and azure. I use a sophisticated palette of creamy oils and Italian mosaic smalti tempered with a neo-Byzantine sensibility. Disciplined craftsmanship enables me to construct space and suggest mass.

Beneath the elegant detail is the long, simple line, perhaps the most beautiful and powerful expression of the human hand.

The integration of preciousness and beauty in the work illuminates the sacred mysteries of ordinary life and elevates those moments of human experience to reveal the glory of God. Each work glitters and competes for the eye of the viewer. Surface textures and color are produced with the frenetic mixture of drawing, painting, sculpture and mosaics. The works become powerful, deep bodied and dazzling to viewers of all imaginations and beliefs.

Gregory Gaylor
2021