“Human connection is so powerful — the need to be seen, heard and understood is something we all crave, especially those struggling with opioid addiction and the loved ones who suffer along with them — they all deserve our compassion,” says artist Domenic Esposito.
BOSTON (PRWEB)
December 14, 2021
Artist and social activist Domenic Esposito will launch his solo exhibition Vox Clamantis at Piano Craft Gallery in Boston (Jan. 7-30, 2022), with an opening night reception on Friday, Jan. 7 (special media preview hour at 5pm; free and open to the public, 6-9pm; register here for the event). In 2018, Domenic achieved national recognition with massive opioid spoon sculptures placed on the doorsteps of the FDA and major pharmaceutical giants. Now, for the first time, audiences will be able to see his wider body of work, including a selection of cast and assembled sculptures and paintings. Through his work, he shares the underlying “collateral damage of opioid addiction” and what it means for all those affected both directly and indirectly by this tragic, destructive force.
“Human connection is so powerful, and the past couple of years have tested us in many ways individually and as a society,” says artist Domenic Esposito. “The need to be seen, heard and understood is something we all crave, even the addict that society has dismissed. So, for all those struggling with opioid addiction and the loved ones who suffer along with them, finding the way back to being connected and visible becomes the greatest struggle, and they all deserve our compassion.”
Vox Clamantis (‘the voice of one crying out’) will feature more than twenty works, including Unconditional, 2020 (Oil on canvas, cast bronze 40” x 30” x 12”), Assailable, 2020 (Oil on canvas, cast bronze 40” x 30” x 12”), Mass, 2021 (Oil on canvas 48” x 72”), Cass, 2021 (Oil on canvas 48” x 72”) and on loan, Reticent and Marching (both 2021, Oil on canvas) courtesy of The Eileen S. Kaminsky Family Foundation. The exhibition narrates the snapshots of thoughts and feelings the artist has experienced through his own tormented journey playing the role of intermediary, protector and savior in his brother’s struggle with addiction, isolation and detachment from family and society.
“As activist, Domenic Esposito is compelling and certainly a force in a movement that continues to seek justice,” says Diana Lada L’Henaff, Exhibition Curator. “As an artist, he is thoughtful, nuanced and very compassionate about presenting a subject matter that is daunting to most. Using a type of visual shorthand, he shares what consumes him internally and hopes to confront the viewer with subtle reminders of what needs to be addressed collectively.”
During this month-long exhibit at Piano Craft Gallery, there will also be a few events with artists, authors and academics in connection to Domenic’s art and activism. See full lineup at The Opioid Spoon Project.
- Friday, Jan. 21 the Opioid Spoon Project will host a fundraiser event (5-9pm).
- Saturday, Jan. 22, noted journalist and author Sam Quinones, will discuss his latest book The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth, which follows his previous book, the New York Times bestseller Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic, (2-3pm).
- Sunday, Jan. 23, Domenic will conduct a 2D Art with 3D Sculpture Workshop, co-sponsored by New England Sculptors Association (NESA).
- Thursday, Jan. 27, Exploring Art Therapy, to discuss the healing power of art, featuring Antonella Pirone, PHD, Director of Translational Pharmacology at Caesura Tx, SLP fellow and Alicia Ventura, Director of Special Projects & Research, Office-Based Addiction Treatment Program (OBAT) at Boston Medical Center. Sponsored by Professionisti Italiani a Boston (PIB), (6-8pm).
- Saturday, Jan. 29, Artist Talk with Domenic Esposito and Vox Clamantis Curator Diana Lada L’Henaff (6-7pm).
About Domenic Esposito Fine Art
A Massachusetts based artist and social activist, art has been an integral part of Domenic’s Iife since childhood. A graduate of Northeastern University, he was also trained in art from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Stonybrook Fine Arts, Artist Asylum and Prospect Hill Forge, where he developed his metalwork skills. Considered a sculptor first, he continues to refine his craft with deliberate vocabulary borrowed from the Italian Renaissance period, as well as his own personal cultivation of Asian culture and principles. In 2018, he achieved national attention through the massive opioid spoon sculptures he placed on the doorsteps of the FDA and major pharmaceutical giants, and founded the Opioid Spoon Project, a 501(c)(3) to serve as a solution-based platform that seeks legal justice and brings voice to the devastation of opioid addiction.
Domenic’s work includes sculptures, paintings, commissions and public art installations, and has been privately collected and exhibited in a range of galleries and art fairs across the U.S., including Canvas Fine Arts, Boston; Piano Craft Gallery, Boston; Insight Artspace, NY; Scope, NYC; Art Palm Beach; and SOFA Chicago Art Fair, among others. In 2019, his work Accountability won ‘Best in Show’ at the Arts Benicia Juried Show in California. He also completed a prestigious artist residency at Mana Contemporary, which lead to his print work with legendary Gary Lichtenstein. To learn more follow on Facebook and Instagram.
About Piano Craft Gallery
The Piano Craft Gallery, Inc. works to eliminate common barriers to accessing the arts such as race, education level and class by guiding our operation through an anti-racist and inclusive lens. It does this by sharing, promoting and celebrating the work of racially, culturally and socio-economically diverse artists of all abilities with the public. For more information, visit Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Media Contact for Domenic Esposito
Roberta Tsang, RTPR
roberta@rtprcomm.com
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