Lovers in landscape

Lover in a landscape with a view on the horizon. there in the distance there seem rest and peace and the mystery on not knowing what is. Note the whimsical loose tree and the barely suggested figures. this etching is probably from the early seventies, done on the press Doug Lyons and some other friends bought for Tony. I know of three presses having been bought for Tony. The two other ones were bought in Belgium.

Rain/Reign

It is a dark, rainy day in spring. In this flat country there are many rainy days. It changes the colors. Everything drips,all is watery. But even then there the bright red outline who reigns over the painting. There are the the far desert vistas and at least three gentle landscapes. This non linear but layered painting jumps between the different realities, different emotions. The thick cutout lines every time again isolate a separate reality, the other meaning, the other 'signifié'. The reading of Tony Mafia's painting remains open to the reader. he was a forceful man, but not an authoritarian painter. The painting was shown in Leohards Gallery

The sater

Tony's nephew Joe:
The painting was done in North Las Vegas 1986. I bought it from Ed Morgan (my step dad) a few years ago. He had it in a trailer that was not very tall so the top was rolled, folded over and forced to fit. That put a crease across the top and caused some damage but mostly it is in good shape.
I think it's the devil stealing a woman from that poor guy who looks like he has been hypnotized. If all's fair in love and war then I think this is a painting about Love. Sorry I'm not much of a critic when it comes to art and my thoughts. I will say this is one of those paintings that the more I looked at it the more I liked it.
Note to Joe: it is Greek mythology; Pan with the flute and a very light haired Sater to boot. It must be an idealized self-portrait of Tony... I love the wide open space of the landscape. I think it was shown in the La Brea Gallery in Las Vegas.

The Cocktail Party

it is an early spring day, a perfect day for a garden party like this one. The party is a bit crowded to my taste but I think Tony enjoyed painting it. I like the blue of the sky and the white clouds and the forever symbolic Martini glass. A fun moment in Hoboken in 1999. It is hanging in the small show at the East Castle in Antwerp.

Green Indians

Green Indians in the woods and water are obviously an imagined landscape, a dreamscape. Tony's brother told me that Tony identified with the West. As kids they would regularly see westerns. Also one set of grandparents was full blooded Indian. As a grown up he reflected about his identity and claimed his Indian heritage more and more. It was a recurrent theme in his life and work.

The cormorant

On an old found canvas, Tony painted this happy bird with a large nest egg. It was 1992. It was the silent bird we had, next to the many canaries. See the dancing, the spheres of the sky, the sand and dry grass. See the free brush strokes and know that Tony's freedom sometimes was hard won, a freedom as reckless as the joy of life of this bird.

Seascape

After a series of new and vibrant work a quiet old piece.: a pastel seascape with clouds and hidden sun. It could be a bay, even a white water river. A fast but misleading impression makes one overlook the figure in the rocky foreground and the white self portrait in the foam.

Yellow sweater

The yellow sweater I have worn for a long time, the skirt I still have. Sometimes Tony was very realistic even if one doesn't expect it from his wilder work. This is a '93 oil painting. I like the vanishing point in the landscape. It was a fairly good time.

Tearing skull

Among the garbage in the street Tony picked up a canvas and painted this amazing piece. You will see when you click to open the picture that the faces are compositions of other figures that landscapes and humans flow together. Tony was in that time (1998) fascinated by the form of drops of water. He probably was also depressed on and off and thus tears appeared on his canvasses. Here is the combination of tenderness and sadness, tranquility and a tearing skull.

Hopi 3

In this third drawing of the series of three, Tony shows a few telltale details of the constructions in the old pueblo's. The three generations, the maiden with her typical hairdo, the old woman and the grandchild express a continuity of culture. In the background he drew the Arizona canyons he loved. If I remember correctly these three drawings stem from 1998, after his last summer in Chloride.

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...

The guardian

Yes this painting is called the guardian. if you can spot this guardian, then you do look well at paintings. I like also the harlequins in it , the gentle figures and what I feel is a selfportrait. The painting belongs to a friend/collector who has a wonderful choice of Tony's work. Of course the landscape is dreamlike, a safe place to rest.

Pen and ink

These pen and ink, black and white drawings are sometimes whimsical, sometimes tender, an expression of his fears or a longing for what never could be. Tony did some Christmas cards every year for friends like Anke and Sam Nassi and Doug Lyons. This might be one of them. The landscape in the background is inviting you to dream in it, to escape in it. Sometimes I am asked who owns a painting or a drawing that was posted. Since some are from photographs found in guitar cases or in folders and drawers or because the images find their way to me through friends from friends the whereabout of the work is in quite a few cases unknown ... But as Tony said: You'll recognize me by my brush strokes.

For the head of a dog

This watercolor with pastel was done in Strasbourg France in 1991. I don't remember whether in spring or late autumn. It was part of the 'payment to the dentist'. Obviously the theme is Native American with the typical iconic landscape of Arizona in the background. See the turtle? The Americas are called Turtle Island by the Indians. His signature Black Sun is prominently present as a drawing. Nice work Tony, it was a good time for us...

Underworld

This mixed medium came to life in 1996. It represents the subconscious which is chaos and out of which grows a friendly, tranquil garden. At least in art. The theme gave Tony the opportunity to combine abstract and almost figurative as two sides of the same coin in one drawing. It was shown in the retrospective in the castle in Hoboken. "One of the most striking aspects of abstract art's appearance is her nakedness... abstract art is stripped bare of other things in order to intensify it,its rhythms, spacial intervals, and color structure." (Robert Motherwell)

From the net

This drawing stems from Chloride, oil and pastel; the date says 1998. I have never seen this one before, so I wonder who had it. I like the white sun or moon and the three figures... Anybody out there to hare how he or she came across the drawing?

Two suns

In this oil painting from 1996 you see three Indian old ones'', 'elders' small and see through in the landscape. That is Tony's mythical side. The two suns encompass both worlds, this one and the one invisible to most of us.

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.

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.