Frank Cappello

About the Artist

EDUCATION: 1993. Certificate, Art Education (K-12), District of Columbia, Board of Education. 1978. MA Painting, S.U.N.Y. at Oswego. 1976. BA Printmaking and Drawing, S.U.N.Y. at Oswego. 1973. Studied art at the University of Pisa, Italy. PROFESSIONAL: 1990-present. Art instructor at The Lab School of Washington, Washington, DC EXHIBITIONS: April 2006: One-person show, Alex Gallery, Washington, DC October 2004: One-person show, Alex Gallery, Wash.DC March 2003: One-person show, Gallery A, Washington, DC May 2002: Group exhibition, Gallery A, Washington, DC March 2002: One person show, Paintings and works on paper, Gallery A, Wahington, DC April 2001: One person show, Paintings and works on paper, TRW corp, Mclean, VA January 1999: One person show, Paintings and works on paper, Logistics Management Institute, McLean,VA November 1998: Photograph selected for Fairfax Arts Council Open Exhibition. J. Carter Brown (juror) Northern VA Community CollegeFairfax, VA April 1997: Two person show, Garrett Park Town Center, Kensington, MD April, 1995: One person show, First Union Bank, Mac Arthur Blvd. branch, Washington, D.C. December,1994: Fairfax County Arts Council Open Exhibition, Leslie Exton (Juror), Fairfax VA. June, 1992: Three Rivers Arts Festival, Marilyn A. Zeitlin (Juror),Pittsburg, PA. February, 1992: Fairfax Arts Council Juried Corporate Exhibition, TRW Corp., Fairfax, VA February, 1992: Montgomery County Juried Art Exhibition, Helen Frederick (Juror), Strathmore Hall, Rockville, MD. October, 1991: One Person Show, "Drawings and Mixed Media",Foundry Gallery, Washington, D.C. August, 1991: Juried Group Show, "Teacher Talent", Art Barn, Washington,D.C. October, 1990: One Person Show, Foundry Gallery,Washington, D.C. July, 1990: Group Show, "Fifteen Years", Foundry Gallery, Washington D.C. January, 1990: Group Show, Foundry Gallery, Washington, D.C. November, 1989: One Person Show, Foundry Gallery,Washington, D.C. March, 1988: Print and Sculpture Show, Strathmore Hall, Bethesda, MD. January, 1988: First Prize, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum Photography Contest, Washington, D.C. November, 1982: Masters of Art Alumni Exhibition, Oswego, N.Y. April, 1981: Mayors Mini Art Exhibit, "A Slice of Washington Art", District Building, Washington, D.C. January, 1981: Two Person Show, General Services Administration,Washington, D.C. November, 1980: Gallery Artist's Exhibit, Zenith Gallery, Washington, D.C. September,1980: "Works on Paper", Juried Exhibition, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. January, 1980: Group Show, Zenith Gallery , Washington D.C.

Artist's Statement

While evolved from landscape, fundamental ideas drawn from physics and astronomy animate my work. The combination of chance and physical law kick off the unique evolution of extraordinary objects. Order emerges out of chaos, creating harmony through the interaction of dissonance. I’m not trying to depict final images from science, such as, versions in paint of the Hubble and Cassini mission photos. I work from first principles, with an experimental spirit and approach toward using media. It is up to the viewer to complete the picture, although titles help trigger associations and suggest direction. Improvisation is key, which is where my training as a musician comes in. I build compositions by overlapping frequency lines, adding and subtracting as I work. Paint is often mixed directly on the canvas by combining dry pigment and medium along with earth, sawdust, and other materials. Marks are often made in wet, pre-applied paint using masonry tools, sticks or found objects. Always striving to balance accident and control; chaos and order in making each piece, I often use "destructive" drawing techniques. By employing water jets, air pressure, or intense heat to gouge, slice or burn the paint surface after it's been built up, I can alter the color and texture of paint surfaces as if painting shadows.