 |
|
 Mr. De Firis' portrait titled "Yeshua" came about after years of searching for a lost faith through scholarship on the historical Jesus. The painting was executed before learning about the contest. He was at the time preparing for a show of Riverscapes for the Atelier Gallery, when he felt an intense emotional desire to realize the image of Jesus. With the exception of a crucifixion scene he had copied at the Metropolitan Museum of Art while a student at the Art Students League, it is the only religious painting he had ever done. The painting was executed in a rush of emotion with not much thought to technique. When he learned about the contest, he felt that it did not resemble his secular painting; it was dark and a bit clumsy. He admits that his ego entered the picture and he was tempted to make changes. But something said to leave it alone and so he did. Mr. De Firis feels that what took place was what every painter experiences - an expression of emotion through paint on canvas, in this case a distillation of everything he ever saw or read on the subject of Jesus. |
Peter
De Firis Yashua (Second Place) |
||
Peter De Firis entered the Art Students League in New York in 1975 to study anatomy with Robert Beverly Hale, drawing with Gustav Rehberger and painting with David Leffell. His first group show was at the Knickerbocker Artists Society, N.Y.C., in 1977. In 1980, he showed at t he Salmagundi Club, N.Y.C. and in 1981, at the Pastel Society, N.Y.C. Over the years, he has also exhibited in many outdoor art shows. After moving from New York to Frenchtown, N.J., he showed with the Blackburn and Yates Gallery in Frenchtown on a regular basis. He has also shown at the Hunterdon Art Center in New Jersey, Phillips Mill, New Hope, Pa., and the Coryell Gallery in Lambertville, N.J. Mr. De Firis has received awards from the Peddlars Village Art Festival in 1986 and 1987, and from Phillips Mill, New Hope, Pennsylvania, in 1993. He is currently showing on a regular basis with the Atelier Fine Art Gallery in Frenchtown N.J. |
|||
| Previous Art work 7 of 35 Next | |||
| About the exhibition |