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Works of Doyle, Di Fronzo and Lafuente Make Up ‘Earth, Sea and Sky’

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Somerville Manning Gallery has exhibited the works of three accomplished artists – Michael Doyle, Francis Gregory Di Fronzo, and Christine Lafuente – for many years. They all studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and each has developed their own expression in their paintings as seen in Earth, Sea, and Sky.

"Dream, Part 28" by Francis Gregory Di Fronzo, oil over watercolor and gouache, 19 x 49 inches

Michael Doyle feels a strong connection to the earth.  Farmers and those who work on the land are all of deep interest to him. On his New Jersey farm, he grows flowers, vegetables and fruit trees that become the inspiration for many of his paintings.

From Doyle’s windows, fields can be seen offering a glimpse into a world of earth turning, planting and growing throughout the seasons. While studying at PAFA, Doyle received many awards and grants for his landscape paintings.

Christine Lafuente’s seascapes from Maine reveal a painterly dialogue between the expansive coastal waters, the changing skies. and the mist and fog of Acadia. Lafuente’s partially abstracted landscapes are created with beautifully applied brushwork and colors. She was honored to be selected by the Academy of Arts and Letters to participate in their esteemed Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts in 2007.  Christine Lafuente earned her M.F.A. in New York, where she keeps her studio and teaches at Pratt Institute.

Francis Gregory Di Fronzo discovered sometime ago that the landscape represents what we understand the world to be – a kind of universal context for everything in life.  Worldwide, he finds that people identify with the landscape. In his current work, Di Fronzo is interested in the connection of where the sky meets the horizon in a landscape. He explores the atmosphere, the cloud formations and the light in his large-scale paintings.

Currently residing and working in southern California, the desert sands and bright skies are compelling subjects for Di Fronzo. He received his B.F.A. at the University of California, Fullerton, then earned his M.F.A. in 1998 in Philadelphia.  Di Fronzo was awarded the prestigious Pew Fellowship award in 2004.

The exhibit opens with a reception on, Friday, March 9, from  5:30-7:30 pm.