Yesterday I attended a very interesting and informative art showing by artist Nicholas Carbonaro. As soon as I entered the Rose Hall dining room, I was immediately drawn to the paintings’ use of bright colors and interesting textures and materials. In particular, I was fascinated by the design of the piece “Welcome to my Home” which incorporated the portrait of a person on top of an upside-down screen door. I also was struck by the interesting angularities of a painting entitled “Rose” which depicted the face of an older woman.

What made my visit to the art show especially memorable for me was the opportunity to listen to Mr. Carbonaro answer questions about his artwork. From this I learned that “Welcome to my Home” symbolized for him the coming of age people experience in their twenties when they finally learn to accept their distinctive personal identities. He also revealed that the painting entitled “Rose” was a portrait of his Italian grandmother who had been an important influence on him during his childhood. This ability to have “behind-the-scenes” explanations of the artist’s use of symbolism and sources of inspiration was a new experience for me and really heightened my appreciation of Mr. Carbonaro’s work.