Blue House
Acrylic, pigment print on canvas
34 x 59 inches
2005
Window
acrylic, pigment print on canvas
56 x 80 inches
2005
Curtains
Pigment print on Hahnemuhle 310gsm
20 x 30 inches
2006
In Stretch, Oropallo is pushing pixels like paint, expanding, extending and spreading the images to new formats. These more abstract presentations explore how far an object can be obscured or exaggerated and still register as recognizable, testing the number of visual cues required of the viewer for the process of identification. Sections of an image are digitally slit, repositioned and collaged with expressively altered sections of the same image, creating a disorienting effect and confounding a clear reading of foreground and background. The activated imagery exhibits an unfocused and distorted outcome that lends the impression of optical vibration to the works, and, in some cases, the effect of exaggerated motion.
Oropallo selects images of seemingly benign objects from domestic life: toys, bedroom items, and iconic symbols of home and neighborhood, often borrowed from the internet, and wields them theatrically, mining a subtext that produces an unexpected beauty while insinuating a subtle sense of unease and anxiety. Repetition is paramount in past works by Oropallo, and continues to play an important role in these new pieces. The use of multiple presentations of an object emphasizes the monotony of domestic existence and the unsung dramas of daily life. [Deborah Oropallo : Stephen Wirtz Gallery]
Azurebumble 