Conveying elapsed time and bombastic energy, Mitchell Villa’s process involves long strokes and motions that use his entire body. The self-taught painter depicts scenes that range from Biblical allusions to horror to intimate domestic portraits. Works like the triptych “Dinner Party” show the artist’s penchant for controlled cacophony.
“Villa’s style could be described as a form of subjective realism,” a statement says. “It is representational, but of emotional exposure rather than photographic surface. The spontaneity in this exposure is earned through foundational preparation. Villa renders his work from photo references to the point of close resemblance. This becomes the jumping point for deconstruction, stripping away, and abstracting upon the image towards its inner energy.”
Find more of Villa’s work on his site.
The figures in 
The flesh takes a leading role in the art of 
Curated by artist 
While collecting stones along the east coast of his hometown in Maine, it dawned on artist