Adjunct Art Professor Gina Torello, M.F.A., gave a captivating lecture to a packed Bey Hall Auditorium in support of her art exhibition Lightscapes.
Torello’s lecture was well attended by colleagues, friends, family, and students from all walks of life last Friday night, Jan 31. “I hadn’t seen some of those friends in 32 years. It was like being at my living funeral,” quipped Torello.
The title Lightscapes is a play on the word “landscapes,” according to Torello. The “light” comes from how natural light influences her work.
“My eyes see things in nature that seem very simple, but it’s the light that alters the emotions,” said Torello. “Artists follow the light; it’s the light that creates the ambiance. It illuminates the environment.”
Lightscapes is also the name of Torello’s business, which was born out of her Italian heritage and experience earning her M.F.A. from the Dominican University in Florence, Italy, as well as exhibiting work at Villa Schifanoia and Peroni’s Bottega. “I rent a villa for a week. I bring an Italian chef with me, all the art supplies, and eight to ten art students of any skill level,” said Torello.
She utilizes the practice of plain-air painting, or painting outside, during these retreats. Torello likes to immerse the group of students in Italian culture by taking them sightseeing to nearby cities, though most of the retreat is spent at the villa painting, according to the Professor.
Lightscapes was held in the Ice House Gallery located next to Rechnitz Hall. The exhibition included works in a wide variety of mediums, including pastel, oil on canvas, photography, and sculpture. Pacing through the gallery, it is clear that nature is a major source of inspiration in Torello’s work.
Several pieces depicted Monmouth County beaches, and employed enough realism to make any local feel the ocean breeze against their face. Torello’s use of texture and blending make for highly realistic depictions of evening skies, clouds, oceans, and other scenes.
Lightscapes also features some sculptures from Torello. The human body was a common theme amongst these pieces, and some utilized surrealist elements. One sculpture, employing themes of surrealism, powerfully depicted a human male body emerging from what appeared to be an open eye.
“I love surrealist art,” said Torello, who hopes exhibition goers will interpret their own meaning from her sculpture. “I don’t want to tell you what to think or what to feel. What does it mean to you?”
Gianna Rossi, a junior fine arts student who had Torello for class gave her perspective on two of her paintings. Rossi spoke on ‘My Childhood Memories’ (pictured left) and a park landscape titled ‘Getting out of Work’ that’s full of trees and a winding path, which is on display at the gallery.
“They both create a sense of space and atmosphere. Especially in ‘My Childhood Memories,’ the colors create a realistic lighting. Both pieces also give off a calming and serene mood,” Rossi said.
The long-time Drawing and Art Appreciation Professor captures people, nature, and man-made structures such as houses and churches in her photography. Having seen some of these elements in her other works, it is apparent that she is documenting the human experience with her art. Torello does this in a very raw and candid way; she captures things as they are, and seems to use her paintbrush in the same way one uses a camera.
Torello teaches full time at Monmouth University and Brookdale Community College. She works with the Monmouth County Park System as a recreation center teacher of Renaissance Drawing & Painting, Pastel Impressionism, and other subjects.
Lightscapes opened at the Ice House Gallery on Jan. 21 and will be featured through March 13.
PHOTOS COURTESY of Gina Torello
