With the determined do-it-yourself skill required to build a tree house fort and the unbridled enthusiasm of diving into a junior science kit experiment, Augusto Sandroni’s rambunctious studio practice embraces an off centered, handmade charm and celebrates joyful invention. By interweaving non-traditional materials – industrial tapes, aluminum foil, cardboard – with various modes of abstract painting – grid structures, color fields, interlocking patterns – he creates small to medium sized works that range from the pristinely painted to the absurdly assembled. His punchy colors activate puzzle-like compositions that seem to endlessly fidget, fuss and vibrate. Logging studio hours and applying elbow grease pays off; Sandroni’s impressive output produces works that possess a distinct one-of-a-kind feel. This prolific approach runs contrary to a cookie-cutter assembly line formula and instead evokes the old world notion of an ever-tinkering workshop master.
Spanning a two story interior wall that measures 400 x 554 inches Radius Abstractus is comprised of over twenty individual paintings. At the heart of this colorful constellation is a medium sized round painting with straight lines emanating from its center. Many of these lines continue off the circular edge, turn from white into silvery metallic, and jut outward to reach a single painting. The radial connections form an off kilter wheel structure whose spokes seem to extend and retract as the hub revolves. His site-specific installation takes on the presence of a mesmerizing carnival spectacle. With a touch of cotton candy sugar rush in the atmosphere, Sandroni serves up a fascinating Ferris wheel ride with all of your favorite artists gleefully on board. Doodled Paul Klee grids spin upward, slap dash stripes a la Mary Heilmann crown the apex and geometric shapes characteristic of Marsden Hartley descend on a gentle arc.
Augusto Sandroni is originally from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil and currently lives and works in San Diego, CA. Sandroni received his Master of Fine Arts from Claremont Graduate University, Claremont CA and his Bachelor of Arts from San Diego State University, San Diego, CA. Electro Wonky Funkadelic, a solo exhibition of his paintings works on paper and sculpture, was featured at Maloney Fine Art in Los Angeles, CA. For additional information please visit www.augustosandroni.com