Nello's dream

Tonight there is an other meeting of the Nello's dream society and Tony will once again be remembered by his friends... He has been gone for 12 years now and he still manages to touch people.
Here a picture of Indians dreaming of dancing...

Abstract faces

The name of this painting, painted in Hoboken in 1999, should have been 'Abstract faces and dancing nudes'... It an oil with parts where the paint is almost sculpted on. Other parts of the canvas can be seen through the light wash. Explore the secrets hidden in the colors. Find the forms and tell the tales that come to you.

The peasant couple reveling in the foreground contrasting the elegance of the two dancers in the background: this could be a painting about the clash of harsh reality and art, about expectations and dreams, about love, lust and tenderness. Tony Mafia also could have just met them on the cobblestoned streets in Antwerp in 1999, came home and painted what he felt and saw. Note the abstract paintings in the background, the meeting could have been in a gallery and the art critic took the lady home...

Painting the dance

This too is older work: 1974. Tony returned often to the theme of dance since it gave him a freedom in movement and costume. Here it is rather abstract or iconic. Interestingly there is the paintbrush on the right hand side... This is a self-referential detail so we know who looked and painted: Tony Mafia.

Hopi 2

In the background you see the pueblos. The women wear the heavy dress and boots for dancing. They dance elegantly and the dress is heavy because they have to be reminded that they are not gods but from this earth... All that Tony Mafia put into these Hopi drawings.

Tango

Green eyes and a Tango: a bunch of Tony's friends were into tango and Tony without having had any lessons was the hight of elegance when he would do a few steps. He saw what they did and improved upon it. I think the green eyes refer to jalousie in this case since one girl wouldn't let her partner dance with any other... That is the stuff of life and paintings.

Dance of masks

Dance of masks is the title of this double mixed medium. It stems from 1988. The hazards of photography made a reflection just come out of one of the masked eyes. Tony would have liked that. The dentist is the proud owner of this one with its straighter, more stylized approach.

Colors

Dancing in the Colors is the name of this mixed media drawing from 1998. It looks busy and overwhelming in this picture but it is just what it says peoples dancing among the colors: big Indians and small folks in a suggested landscape of a river and mountains. Think of the Colorado river with cottonwood trees along its banks and happiness, and coolness on a hot summers day...

Tango

The Vet who owns this oil is an avid tango dancer. Here Tony portrayed a dancing couple. She looks a bit worried. he announces his intentions on his shirt: note the horse, at least one fiery stallion and a nude lady. I think Tony intended the lady to look this way because the figure in the background is her partner. The red madder in the background and the dress is brushed on thickly just as the viridian dark green in the stripes. Tony himself danced well, he could imitate a move just after seeing it once.