Literature

The paintings in this series are new interpretations of a long-recurring dialogue within Adam Cardello’s work. He frequently joins separate and/or opposite ideas into one visual identity. Control versus lack of control (not chaos, but rather an inability to control) is an important element that generally manifests through meticulously balanced compositions where he only allows the paintbrush to be held in a way that severely limits his ability to control the application of paint.

In Dualities, his choice of material facilitates a continuation of this interest in control. The textured linen surface, unprimed, has a highly absorbent nature, and makes painting difficult, slow, and a repetitive process. It takes many layers of paint to bring form to the shapes and to the tensions between them. As a result, a second juxtaposition is discussed: its essence is raw and instinctual, but the thought behind the process is precise, allowing the work to simultaneously exist as a place that is both sophisticated and primitive. Thirdly, the canvases are divided down the center, with distinctly different ideas of color, shape, and sense of space. The two individual color moments are paired together in a way that, even while different, feel whole.