ST 2 , 2013

Vacant bulks of unspecific images, portraying everyday objects, form the nucleus of Daniel Senise's paintings. Assorted and passionate colours filled his early works fictitious and sporadic sceneries. He also unabashedly took inspiration from the great masterpieces of Renaissance paintings. Senise's aim has always been to blend the traditions of bygone eras with aspects of modernity, to create art works for the present day. He juxtaposes his take on the narrative of historical paintings, with a fierce critique of our current societal perspectives and judgments. Senise consciously intends to provoke the viewer into using their own imagination to interpret his works, and creates an appropriate context for their own experience of doing so. Born in Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro in 1955 where he still resides to this day, he is renowned for his unconventional use of 'wood prints'. The technique came to him from an experiment with texture, as the result of accidentally spilling varnish on his studio floor during the completion of a work. Senise liked the effect produced so much, that he started applying it over fabrics, prints and any surface he could find a use for. He has also extensively incorporated elements of engineering in his work, a discipline in which he was trained at University. Senise work is concerned with the fragmentation of his portrayal of reality, and how imagery can become a tool that enables the viewer to recover meaning in an increasingly labyrinthine world. (Artist website)