HISTORYI have always had an enthusiasm for the arts, starting at an early age. Born to Concetta and Caesar Romano on August 7, 1954 in New Jersey. I was fortunate to grow up within an inspiring atmosphere of a creative and artistic Italian family. In high school, I began drawing for amusement and continued my artistic interest into my college years while working for my uncle, Dr. Nicholas Giarritta, at his fine dining restaurant. During college, my creative interests branched out to my love of music. I began my instruction of music theory with piano and afterwards taught myself the essentials of tenor saxophone, flute and guitar. Shortly after moving to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands in 1985, with my two children, Nina & Tony, I opened Romano’s Restaurant & Art Gallery. It was at Romano’s that I could express another passion, the art of the kitchen and fine cuisine.CANVASIn an effort to acquire original artwork to display in my restaurant, I began visiting the Dominican Republic. I traveled there often with the goal of becoming familiar with Dominican art and being in the company of the artists. I became an enthusiastic collector of Dominican art and befriended artists who after viewing my sketches, inspired, encouraged and persuaded me to start painting. My beautiful surroundings, music and personal experiences have suddenly awakened this irresistible desire to paint. These are the themes that have always been prominent in my life, and I find painting a most gratifying opportunity to express these themes. My designs start long before I ever put brush to canvas. The thoughts for my compositions start with the first steps of cutting and sanding the wood for the stretchers and continue through the procedure of stretching and priming the canvas. I try to perceive in my mind’s eye, the evolution of the painting on the canvas. Using pencil studies as references, I begin painting, having a general, but not exact idea of how the painting will move forward. Most recently, I have been creating colorful, textured, oil paintings and encaustic works that seem to move rhythmically within the boundaries of the canvas and sometimes beyond. In my more recent efforts the use of many layers of translucent glazes has become apparent. These lucent layers of paint are sometimes in linear angles, circular forms or across the entire painting. These transparent applications, in my opinion, add depth, motion, dimension, emotion, and of course, color. My paintings are found in private collections in the United States, Egypt, Italy, Spain, Germany and the Dominican Republic.EXHIBITS
December 2001 – March 2002: The Art Gallery at the Grand Hotel – St. Thomas, VI
January 2002: The Battery Exhibition, Cruz Bay, St. John, VI
April 2002: Artist Association Exhibit, Westin Hotel, St. John, VI
December 2002: Renaissance Grand Beach Resort Lobby Exhibition, St. Thomas, VI
January 2003: The Battery Exhibition, Cruz Bay, St. John, VI
September 2003 – October 2004: Group Exhibition and representation at the Amsterdam Whitney Gallery in Manhattan, New York, NY
January 2004: The Battery Exhibition, Cruz Bay, St. John, VI
May 2004: “Scratching the Surface” solo exhibit of 20 encaustic paintings and sculpture at the Gallery St. Thomas, VI
February 2005: The Battery Exhibition, Cruz Bay, St. John, VI
March 2005: “The World Hand Exhibition”, Caneel Bay Resort, St. John, VI
October 2005: “Color & Rhythm” Exhibit with Miguel Gomez – Colegio Dominicano de Artistas Plasticos, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
January 2006: “The World Hand Exhibition”, Caneel Bay Resort, St. John, VI
October 2006: Ceramic Exhibition “Fireworks” at Mango Tango Art Gallery, St. Thomas, VI
November 2007: Ceramic Exhibition “Fireworks” at Everyday Clay Gallery, St. Thomas, VI
November 2008: “No Screw Caps” oils, encaustic, sculpture at Mixed Media Gallery, Red Hook, St. Thomas, VI
February 2010: Group Exhibition, Golden Dawn Gallery Sante Fe, NM
AWARDS & HONORS
1st Prize for “Intangible Fusion”, oil on canvas piece at the 15th Annual Tri-Island “Caribbean Colour” Exhibition in 2003
Commissioned by Ricardo J. Charaf to paint, “Finding the Middle Ground” for the boardroom in the First Bank Plaza in 2003
“A Little Night Music” in permanent collection of Chairman & Managing Director of ARTOC, Shafik Gabr in Cairo, Egypt
RELEVANT INFORMATION
Current Member of the St. Thomas – St. John Arts Council
Current Member of the St. John Arts Association
Attended Painting Classes with Art Instructor Tom St. Vincent DiCoio
Attended painting classes with art instructor Miguel Gomez
Owner of Romano’s Art Gallery, St. Thomas, VI
Represented by Amsterdam Whitney Gallery of Fine Art, New York, NY
Represented by Camille Pissarro Gallery, St. Thomas, VI
Attended weekly life drawing classes in Tillet Gardens, St. Thomas, VI
Organized “Welcome to Gulu” art benefit at request of United Nations and renowned artist Ross Bleckner
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