Danny Galieote’s “Pop-Regionalism” Paintings Mix Pop and American Nostalgia

The paintings of Los Angeles based artist Danny Galieote seem to have one foot in the past and one in the future, a style that he describes as “Pop Regionalism”, combining Pop art and Regionalism art aspects. Growing up, Galieote spent much of his time listening to his grandfather’s war stories, eventually going on to work as an animator on films like The Lion King, Tarzan and Hercules at Disney’s Florida studio, a job that requires fundamental understanding of the human figure and stylizing it to suit animation. His command of drawing the figure and appreciation for art and history between the 1920s and 1950s comes together in his uniquely American imagery, recalling those days of the American heartland with apparent modern touches. For his new series debuting at Launch LA in Los Angeles this weekend, Galieote also took inspiration from the techniques and theories of Renaissance masters like Michelangelo and Italian Mannerist painter Jacopo Pontormo. Their influence can be seen in the added sense of drama that his new paintings convey, created with Caravaggio-like sensitivity to light and shadow play and the incorporation of retro designs. The series stresses small town themes and odes to classic cinema, depicting urban scenes, with political and social consciousness, as in his portrayal of a tattooed Uncle Sam with attitude, an icon of the American government and patriotic emotion, and a 1950s space age rocket launch set against the expanse of the American frontier. Take a look at more works by Danny Galieote below, showing at Launch LA from January 16th through February 17th, 2016.