Michael R. Fontana
Michael Fontana resides in Warren, New Jersey and has been painting for most of his life. During the early 1980s, after many years of painting in various styles using different media, Mr. Fontana settled into abstract expressionism, and specifically, action painting. In this style, Mr. Fontana found a technique that enabled him to translate his artistic visions into reality in an exciting, inspiring, and entertaining way.
Michael Fontana’s art has been primarily inspired through his life-long involvement with winter outdoor experiences, including mountain climbing and winter camping. In these settings, he was finally able to clearly see and hear the images and sounds of the subtle world. It was during his time living in Alaska during the 1980’s that he discovered a painting style that could capture this subtle world and that he has used exclusively in his work to the present.
Michael Fontana’s tendency is to create large-size works, in an effort to allow the viewer to become completely immersed visually both within and on the canvas. The medium of choice is semi-gloss, latex enamel house paint on cotton canvas, either primed or unprimed, stretched over wood frames. The paintings are created on a horizontal plane, enabling the artist to apply the color vertically in a careful and controlled fashion. In this way, the perfect balance of application is achieved, an important component of the work. In fact, it is this balance that presents the most important aspects of his paintings, color and line density.
Michael Fontana’s artistic goal in the planning, preparation and creation of his paintings, is to generate a fully-immersive canvas that provides a new dimension for personal meditation and contemplation. A dimension that has form but is formless, that has an unmeasurable scale and is infinite in depth. The result of this methodology is to present the viewer with a perfect visual medium, enabling unfiltered and unimpeded conscious streaming so as to provide serious and deep contemplative thought in the search for answers to the human experience and the meaning and purpose of both the understood and unknown universes.
Mr. Fontana’s methodology relies on combining natural colors, warm and cold, in conjunction with black and white, in a strictly uniform application around the canvas. The balance and placement of lines and colors presents a universal form and dimension. The result is a painting that does not allow the viewer to be drawn into any single area within the work; rather, his style’s success relies on the painting having no focus point distractions but complete visual immersion. This form of immersion can than allow the individual to enter an advanced contemplative state, open now to encountering consideration and evaluation often masked by the noise associated with modern life.
Now, for the first time in over 30 years, Mr. Fontana is publicly presenting his work, including his most recent and largest scale paintings along with earlier works, including those completed during his time in Alaska. The artist’s style is consistent throughout, in space on the painting and in time.
These two paintings were completed simultaneously in 2019 as an integral pair, designed to be shown alone or together. The painting style incorporates a combination of numerous layers of color. Each layer was applied with a technique that utilized a stirring stick rather than a brush. A single layer consisting of one color was applied and allowed to dry thoroughly before proceeding with a new layer. In this way, the layers were kept clearly separated and cleanly intersect where they meet. Further, the use of a stick for application allowed the creation of very thin, continuous lines. The results are paintings that are fully realized across the canvas. As in many of the more recent works, the observer is not drawn to a predetermined thought but can move about the mind freely. The paintings were completed using semi-gloss, latex enamel house paint on primed canvas and each measure approximately 3 ft. by 4 ft.
Several paintings from Michael R Fontana will be on display at the York College Fine Arts Gallery during the CATCHING UP Fine Arts Alumni Return to York event at its 50th Anniversary Homecoming.
Several paintings from Michael R Fontana will be on display at the Warren Township Library as part of its monthly Art Space showings.
Paintings featured include Winter 1, Winter 2, Two Bass Hit and 59.5.
The paintings of Mr. Fontana will be available for viewing during regular library hours in the Art Space on the first floor of the library during the period of February 1 through February 26, 2016.
This painting was recently completed in 2015. The painting represents a slight departure from all of the other paintings in this show in that it was completed by the Principal artist and his longtime friend and Seattle artist, Dan Smith, incorporating each artist’s individual style.
The painting represents an interesting perspective on an individual in the encompassing outdoor environment. The resulting imagery and consequent impression reflects an individual who may be lost in the snow.
The work was completed using semi-gloss latex house pain and artists oil colors.
This painting, the final work in the 2014 series, moved nearly completely away from the initial theme of providing no focal points. In fact, the painting is derived from personal reflection on winter experiences. The created scene is based on the sense derived from a nighttime presence on a mountain covered by snow overlain by the inky blackness of a clear sky. The paint is applied sparingly, uniformly balanced and in a linear construction. There are only two colors present; however, the sparing application of the paint results in the unprimed canvas becoming an important component of the work. While the lack of a non-focal point exists in this work, the presented scene creates, for the viewer as it does for the artist for many decades, an environment conducive to meditative thought. The work measures 6 ft. by 12 ft. and was completed using semi-gloss, latex enamel house paint applied on unprimed canvas.
This painting was completed during 1991 using a wide palette of studio-mixed colors. The overall presentation exhibits a strongly cool tone providing the observer with a calming sense during contemplation. The picture is nearly completely void of any focal points, an important element in the artist’s work. The few areas of warm coloration are observed peeking through the dense cool coloration revealing an introspective light and reality beyond. This painting measures 5 ft. by 8 ft. and was created using high-gloss, oil-based enamel house paint on primed canvas.
This painting was the fifth work completed during the 2014 series and generally maintained the basic theme in its final presentation. There are four colors applied, as before, but there is no cool color used so the overall feel is very warm and open. The lines are applied both thin and thickly resulting in a mottled appearance, complemented by a series of interconnected nodes of colors. While the near-term effect drifts toward the allowance of focal points, the final image remains uniform, enabling the viewer to remain undirected in their contemplations. The raw canvas is open for full view and creates a fixed plane of reference for the entire picture and provides significant vertical depth. The painting measures 6 ft. by 12 ft. and was completed using semi-gloss, latex enamel house paint on unprimed canvas.
This painting was the third in the 2014 series of six works and continued to maintain the essential theme, that is, a very uniform presentation throughout. In this case, however, the work was completed using six colors, including two cool and two warm tones, along with white and black. The result is a full and deeply layered painting. There is no canvas visible in the work. The finish (top) color is black, used sparingly so as not to drive the mood of the observer, rather, it serves to create further depth and dimension. Varying from the other five works in this series, this painting is presented in portrait format using the strong vertical component to act as a window or mirror into the subconscious. The painting measures 12 ft. by 6 ft. wide and was completed using semi-gloss, latex enamel house paint on unprimed cotton canvas stretched over a wood frame.
Action Painting – Abstract Expressionism by Michael Fontana