Reviewers’ Comments
“Ron Maggio always has made art rich in expressive content.”
“Maggio took his imagery directly from Dante, who envisioned traveling through 9 spheres or
circles in his journey of paradise, which he described as a white rose. But Maggio made it his
own, signifying, for instance, with the measuring marks around the rose his belief that human
beings construct their own paradise. … At the same time, he retained hatchmarks and impasto
that give evidence of his laborious drawing and working process. And, when he has done, he
had given his audience a precious gift.”
“Ron Maggio has created a series of paintings inspired by Italian opera. But unlike artists who
aim for an “operatic effect, usually defined as overblown and melodramatic, he sought to
express he lyrical beauty of arias, the intricate melodies sung by a single voice. He achieved his
goal.” Despite their relatively small size, they assume a sweeping, boundless scale, and the
gesture of those looping lines in combination with the clouds of color expresses the personal
feelings of the artist as it elicits an emotional response from the viewer.”
“His work is admirable for its subtle pictorial qualities; recognizable subject matter seems to
hover beneath a veil of small marks as ideas lie beneath the surface of action. But the paintings
derive their power from assured handling and understanding of compositional principles.”