New York, New York: Recent Paintings by Ed Musante will be shown from May 5 through July 1, 2006 at Paul Thiebaud Gallery. These mixed media works take as their support either the lid from a cigar box or the bottom exterior of a cigar box. The artist then devotes a single representational image– invariably an animal and most often a bird– to each box or lid.

The boxes and lids, either of wood or cardboard, are left unstripped of any original material such as paper labels, foil edging, and brand imprints. A painted image is then deftly combined with these “found” elements. To several of the works, Musante further adds his own collage elements culled from other sources.

By interweaving highly realistic renderings of subject matter with the timeworn boxes, he ultimately achieves a novel work that piques one’s curiosity through mystery. Though recently created, they seem to speak of an unidentifiable time past, evoking a sense of nostalgia.

Musante began experimenting with this medium after visiting an antique shop where he purchased a vintage cigar box. He cites the cigar box works seen in the Richard Diebenkorn retrospective at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art several years ago as inspiration for this ongoing body of work.

The artist lives and works in San Francisco.

Opening Reception–Friday, May 5, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm; open to the public