Mark Dell’Isola: Pacific 3-D
Mark Dell’ Isola’s three-month art exhibition titled “Pacific 3-D” opened at the lobby of Hyatt Regency Guam on Oct. 26.
Dell’ Isola is a local artist, whose work derives inspirations from a medley of nature and science. His distinct style is characterized by mystical collages of psychedelic shapes.
The exhibition, which runs until Jan. 11, 2019, features paintings that are based on 3-D optical illusions derived from spiral cone shells, elements of the Pacific, and the color spectDell’Isola was born in in Zaragoza, Spain, and is of Chamorro and Italian-American ancestry. He
has been producing art in the Pacific region for over 30 years. He has studios in the Rock Islands of Palau, Bali, and Japan. Now, he is artist-in-residence at Sagan Kotturan Chamoru Cultural Center in Ypao.
Dell’ Isola’s work was presented at the 2016 Festival of Pacific Arts in Guam. Previous to that, his last exhibition in Guam was in 2011. A 2005 Washington Post review describes, “his palette is ripe with bright tropical colors and passages of paint spelling out the color spectrum. Each massive, highly detailed piece posits the freestyle drop against a calculated underpainting. The result is something like a controlled explosion.”
Dell’Isola is presently represented by Galerie Atelier 35, Germany, where he exhibited a series of paintings in 2015 titled “Pacific Mandala.” He also had multiple exhibitions at the Deborah Colton Gallery, Houston Texas, Govinda Gallery Washington D.C., and at the Hyatt Regency, Guam.
Dell’ Isola’s has paintings in permanent collections at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. Belau National Museum, Ibera Caja Bank, Spain, A.B Won Pat Guam International Airport, and numerous public and private collections worldwide.
Rick Castro: Roots of Passage
The Castro Art Gallery at Tumon Sands Plaza officially opened its doors on Oct. 5 with its maiden exhibition, “Roots of Passage,” featuring junglescape series by Rick Castro, who owns the gallery.
The new gallery is filled with dozens of acrylic paintings depicting the island’s wild lush, painted in meticulous details that evoke some primitive mystery.
“I felt Guam needed a serious gallery,” Castro said. “Starting January 2019, I’m planning to show new artists in their own solo shows once a month, curated of course.”
The gallery is open to the public free of charge.
Castro is an associate professor of art at the University of Guam. He is a native Chamorro, raised on the family beach in the north of Guam. Castro studied at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and holds an associate degree in specialized technology.
He won “Best in Show” his final year. He also studied at the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a bachelor of fine arts; and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia where he was awarded a four-year certificate and master of fine arts, and where he received a Ware Travel Award to experience art in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Castro is the recipient of other numerous awards and has exhibited his paintings and prints in the continental United States as well as in Japan, Tahiti and the Philippines.