36 in. (91.4cm) x 36 in. (91.4cm) x 1 in. (2.5 cm)
"Water is the gaze of the earth.”
Gaston Bachelard, Water and Dreams
Anthony Pontrello (Italo-American, b. 1950)
When the Sea Became Sky
mixed media on canvas
36 x 36 x 1 in. (91.4 x 91.4 x 2.5 cm)
signed, bottom, right, initials, AP
signed again, inverso, “A. Pontrello 2026”
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“This painting continues my conversation swith the elemental world. Rather than depicting the sea or the sky, I wanted to paint the place where they cease to be separate—the invisible boundary where water becomes air and air returns to water.
The surface evolved through successive layers of acrylic, each partially concealed beneath the next, allowing earlier gestures to remain like currents beneath the visible image. This painting is less concerned with representation than with sensation: humidity, movement, reflection, and the constant exchange between atmosphere and ocean.
I am fascinated by the way nature refuses fixed boundaries. Clouds borrow the language of waves, rivers become mist, and light itself seems to dissolve into color. This work attempts to inhabit that fleeting condition where nothing is entirely one thing or another.
Ultimately, I hope this painting invites quiet contemplation. I ask the viewer not to identify a place, but to remember the feeling of standing where wind, water, and light briefly become one.” ~AP
"Water is the gaze of the earth.”
Gaston Bachelard, Water and Dreams
Anthony Pontrello (Italo-American, b. 1950)
When the Sea Became Sky
mixed media on canvas
36 x 36 x 1 in. (91.4 x 91.4 x 2.5 cm)
signed, bottom, right, initials, AP
signed again, inverso, “A. Pontrello 2026”
INQUIRE
“This painting continues my conversation swith the elemental world. Rather than depicting the sea or the sky, I wanted to paint the place where they cease to be separate—the invisible boundary where water becomes air and air returns to water.
The surface evolved through successive layers of acrylic, each partially concealed beneath the next, allowing earlier gestures to remain like currents beneath the visible image. This painting is less concerned with representation than with sensation: humidity, movement, reflection, and the constant exchange between atmosphere and ocean.
I am fascinated by the way nature refuses fixed boundaries. Clouds borrow the language of waves, rivers become mist, and light itself seems to dissolve into color. This work attempts to inhabit that fleeting condition where nothing is entirely one thing or another.
Ultimately, I hope this painting invites quiet contemplation. I ask the viewer not to identify a place, but to remember the feeling of standing where wind, water, and light briefly become one.” ~AP