On September 4th, the Martha Gault Art Gallery presented Grit by Rabecca Signoriello, an exhibit that “explores the relationship between the viewer and blue-collar worker,” as stated in Signoriello’s artist statement. The exhibit will be up and open until September 26th.
The inspiration behind Signoriello’s exhibit comes from spending a significant amount of time as a member of a road crew. Walking through the exhibit the audience will be surrounded by realistic and life-sized road crew members. “I have noticed that as I work, I often catch onlookers discreetly gazing upon us. As I look up to meet their gaze, they quickly look away,” states Signoriello.
Signoriello specializes in the medium of oil on panel, with a few paintings done in oil on canvas. Many of the paintings have the subject staring at the audience “forcing the visual confrontation of these two separate worlds.”
Signoriello wants the viewers to be welcomed into the paintings. “In reality these working scenes are overlooked and avoided because they are filled with noise, chaos, danger, and rigor. In the paintings the viewer is invited to examine the space, because it is safe, ordered, and quiet.”
Signoriello has been awarded various awards throughout her career. She was awarded Leipzig International Arts Programme Artist Residency in 2010 in Germany and received the Walter Erlebacher Award along with several other merit awards.
Signoriello has her works in private collections in Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, Monte Carlo Monaco, and Germany. If you wish to see more of Signoriello’s work, you can visit her website: http://www.rabeccasignoriello.com/.
