1054 31st STREET, NW       WASHINGTON, D.C. 20007

Antonio Carreno

      

Antonio Carreńo is an abstract painter whose work has been receiving accolades nationally and in his birthplace, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where he gained his academic background at the National School of Fine Arts.  His paintings burst with abstract vitality.

Abstraction offered Antonio the freedom he wanted to express finding that his subconscious often would take an unpredictable course and that his conscious thoughts engage formal artistic qualities of structure, color and line.  Weather permitting, Carreńo prefers to work outdoors where nature inspires his paintings.  He lays his canvases or board-backed paper on a flat surface that becomes a painting table, thus, he can move around it as the painting grows.  He states that many of the quick-drawn elements in his pictures come from nature that can be seen in the woods around his home.  The first process he uses is a ground layer of sand and polymer.  He proceeds to apply color and drawings over this shallow relief map.  The application of paint is similar to fresco painting if the polymer and sand are still wet.  His paintings are obvious and mysterious.  He feels that his best works are done quickly, preferring to work fast. 

Born in Santo Domingo, Antonio now resides in a rural area of New Jersey.  Since 1982 he as had numerous solo exhibitions and has also shown his work in many group exhibitions around the United States and in his homeland.  His work is in many selected public collections.

Parish Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, from noon to 6 pm; other hours by appointment.