·         June 7th - June 28th, 2019

The Strand Center for the Arts was excited to host the artwork of Kevin Montanaro in the Main Gallery.

 Kevin Montanaro is a lifelong artist with a background in illustration. This illustrative background is a key element in his work, using fine detail to tell a story much like an illustration in a book or an advertisement in a magazine. Commercial art and illustration inspired Montanaro to delve deeper into the artist experience and shift focus to a more gallery-themed line of work. Montanaro's work is contemporary; however, it draws inspiration more from classical work and styles, translated into his own.

 Montanaro is originally from Upstate New York, and presently lives in Burlington, VT. He's been active in the Vermont art scene since the early 2000's, in both displaying personal work and curating the work of others but has shifted focus to hanging more work outside the Burlington area in recent years.

 More than 20 years into his art career, this was his first-time displaying work in his hometown.

 Concerning his work, Montanaro stated: “My principle subject matter is people and their environment, creating highly-detailed works of art that capture life and humanity. Through my work I both celebrate life and the human condition and exorcise its demons. My overriding goal, when creating a new work, is to convey an emotion or a mindset using a human character to interact with the viewer.”

 “My current body of work is loosely inspired by portrait paintings from the Baroque period, using rich, bold, Earthy color and strong shadows to express drama, conflict, curiosity, seduction, ecstasy and happiness. I like to create a conversation between the subject and the viewer and use that conversation to attempt to speak directly from artist to audience.”