“CommUNITY” will include sculpture, drawings, paintings as well as black and white images from his photography series, New Yorkers, While They’re Not Looking. This ongoing project documents the most diverse collection of human beings on the planet Earth, all inhabiting a space merely 23 square miles, many of whom enjoy sleeping on public transportation.
NEW ORLEANS, LA (Oct. 14, 2009) – He’s part advertising guy, part photographer, part painter, part filmmaker. New Yorker Michael Gambino is wholly an artist and will be displaying an array of his work in his first solo show in New Orleans.
Gambino’s creations will be on display in his exhibition “CommUNITY” at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14 at Maison Post, located at 1240 Esplanade Ave. The opening will feature live music by the Robert Snow Trio. The exhibit will run throughout November and is available for showing by appointment.
“Gambino’s work reflects his keen interest in the characters around him, from the man on the street photographs to the large Koi paintings. We’re all social beings whether we’re fish in a pond or the everyday guy on the streets of New Orleans or New York City. We all have a need to be part of a community,” said Kyle Curry, editor and executive producer of Maison Post. “There’s a synergy between Gambino’s work and what we do at Maison Post.”
Maison Post is at state-of-the-art postproduction house, and the latest high-concept company to land in New Orleans on the waves of the Louisiana film renaissance. The principles of Maison Post bring more than 20 years of experience in all genres of filmmaking including episodic TV, commercials, feature films and documentaries.
GAMBINO THE RENAISSANCE MAN:
Gambino is a noted commercial artist who has developed creative campaigns for many of the world’s mega-conglomerates including Coca-Cola, AT&T and Visa. He’s won virtually every advertising award, including Gold Cannes Lions and Gold One Show Pencils. His Visa commercial, Broadway Tribute, is in the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)in New York City. Gambino has exhibited his work at galleries in New York, Seattle and Washington D.C.
“New Orleans is a place where people can bring the best of who they are, and the best of where they come from, and feel immediately comfortable,” he said.
“The events of recent years only underscore the importance of community, there, here and everywhere. I think people fully understand, now, better than ever, that we are all in this together.”
Gambino is the son of a jazz musician. His dad, a saxophone player, was the token white guy in Lionel Hampton’s big band for eight years. He has more than an appreciation for the birthplace of jazz. He has a kinship with the city he first visited 20 years ago.
“I just love New Orleans. Nobody can visit this city without falling in love with it. And if you can’t love New Orleans, well, than I probably don’t want to know you,” said Gambino, a musician himself playing percussion in various types of groups over the years. “New Orleans is like visiting Paris. It changes you, and changes you in ways that you will never really know.”
Gambino’s love for music oftentimes surfaces in his creative approach. He paints with such rhythm and speed it can at best be depicted as a visceral encounter.
“Looking at a canvas, I can see mood and tempo,” he said. “The pieces for this show are large ranging from 3 feet x 4 feet to 9 feet x 12 feet. I love big gestural works. A viewer should fall in to the painting when she stands before it.”
(This News Release written by Jewel Bush of jewelThinks )
Michael Gambino
Biography
Artwork by Michael Gambino, can be found by clicking here , directly linking you to his gallery page.
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