Shows

A picture of a show of Tony's paintings in Leonhard's Fine Art Gallery with fellow painter Christine Comijn. The drawing in the background is a double piece on paper in one large frame. It features the Arizona desert and Indians, a quite typical mixed media that has power. Note when you enlarge the drawing the white horses.

The Silver Belles

I am Betty Brown's step-grandson. I inherited several of Tony's paintings from my father that Betty left him. I sold most of them to Doug Mc Cutcheon. I also have several photo's of you and Tony with my grandparents. I have attached a photo of the only painting I have left. I have read a lot about Tony and would have liked to meet him, he seemed like a very interesting man.

Yes Tony was an interesting man. This particular double piece on canvas was done in 1990, before my arrival in Chloride. At that time there were two theater groups in town and the frilly costumes of the so called ladies of the ways performing as 'The Silver Belles' inspired him to do this painting. Note the landscape and the peoples living in it. Liz and Ron Brown have been good friends to Tony. Thanks for sharing.

triangle

Well it is obviously a love triangle and not the musical instrument that is the subject of this painting. Note that is a self portrait, probably from 1982, a sad, happy, confusing and prolific period in Tony's life. The Vet has it hanging over his bed. It are 4 pieces of heavy German etching paper put together. The size is probably 220 cm wide to 200 cm high. Quite an impressive size. He liked to paint big, with broad gestures. He depicted the lady in the right hand corner in a harlequin type outfit. Painting on paper required speed and accuracy to make this nice work come together right, which it does. Yet he didn't cope too well with the triangle in life.

Punks

Conscienceplein and plumes is what Tony Mafia called this drawing done in 1982 in Antwerp at the Conscience plein where the young punks gathered and where there were always a lot of pigeons. One could call this work a realistic cityscape. He often wrote around his work to clarify, to add a 'frame' in the linguistic sense, trying to clarify in what direction to think and feel about the work. The text around the drawing reads: be, and the sunshine of a forever lit the way for my return to where I began. Pigeons in traditional European paintings had many symbolic meanings: pigeons fly away and Tony was a wanderer, yet they mostly find their way back home, just as he did in this drawing. Often they are a symbol for the soul and with love and lust. Two subjects never far from Tony's mind. I thank the vet for this picture.

A big rock

A big rock lived on a mountain edge since
the very first April ever, balancing
there until love comes.

A beautiful scarlet flying thing
caught his eye as it fluttered by, a abstract
next to the green, gray or black flying things
that sit on the rock occasionally, adding a sober touch of balance
The rock waiting for love, knew, as you know, in this
muted time a little scarlet can dislodge our pale
scale of even.

But the world below the big rock was not
afraid. In mass they knew a little abstract scarlet, love, is better than a
green, grey or black, fear of, big fall, non balance. And also who knows
when a dark cloud will cover all and lose even
this our scale of even ...

Finis


May 27, 1979 Tony Mafia



Een grote rots leefde op een bergkam sinds
de allereerste April ooit, balancerend
aldaar tot liefde komt.

Zijn oog viel op een mooi scharlaken
vliegend iets terwijl het langs fladderde, een abstract
naast de groene, grijze of zwarte dingen die vliegen en
soms op de rots gaan zitten, toevoegend een sobere toets van evenwicht
De rots wachtend op liefde, wist, zoals jij weet, in deze
gedempte tijd kan een beetje scharlaken een
bleke schaal van even verbreken.

Maar de wereld onder de rots was niet
bang. In massa wisten zij dat een beetje abstract scharlaken, liefde, beter is dan een groen, grijs of zwart, angst voor, een grote val, onevenwicht. En ook wie weet
wanneer een donkere wolk alles zal bedekken en zelfs
deze onze schaal van even verliest ...

Finis

Abstract Poncho

This is a rather abstract Indian lady in a poncho. Tony loved this little oil painting from 1993. Not doing the traditional southwest style he caught a lot of flack. He just couldn't bring himself to do the 'slick' stuff. You find rain symbols and peoples hidden in the landscape. Enjoy. The small oil is part of a series of three or four paintings done with the same pallet, the colors creating a unity in this way.

Clouds over Chloride

In February 1996 Tony painted this small delightful canvas in Chloride: the clouds as they roll over the hills of Chloride, the spirits of the past that is what you see here. Tony cared deeply about Chloride, yet it would also drive him to despair. He could not really belong. When he first stayed in Chloride, AZ a lot of artists and crafters lived there, also some musicians. Tony would play the eight bar blues in seven and a half and screw up their rhythm. In this painting I like how color has been handled. I post this in memoriam of Tony's friend Aggie, a good painter and glass in lead artist, who passed away yesterday. She often provided him with paints or canvasses when he was out of money and so acquired quite a nice collection of his work.

Peoples to the sun

Tony painted Peoples to the sun when he was in an abstract mood in a cold garage/atelier he rented in 1998 in Antwerp. It is symbolic for reaching for the sun, for the Indians trying to survive. The darker colored face is one of the iconographies he used for me in a certain period. On the canvas you'll see the real sun and the black sun. Julia Kristeva wrote a book 'Soleil Noire', Black Sun, about depression. I am afraid nobody knew how depressed he was at times, and how he managed to render that in vibrant colors full of life. He transformed the darkness in light while painting.

Two as one

Tony used to paint on anything he could lay his hands on and treat a shabby piece of paper in the same way as the most expensive handmade Japanese paper. This double face as one is painted on a piece of heavy cotton, which he primed with flat green outside paint and then used his oils on. He took some old barn wood for the frame and voilà a 1993 Chloride gem after running out of good paper and canvasses. When he got nervous he would 'have to' paint or draw or play flamenco for hours. That would quieten his mood.