Oscar De Mejo (1911-1992)<\/p>\n
Wagon Train under Attack 1975
Acrylic on board<\/p>\n
Gift of Bob Guccione and Kathy Keeton 1996<\/p>\n
996-O-116<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThe artist Oscar De Mejo was an Italian immigrant who used his artistic talent to celebrate America and Americans. Twenty-six canvases by De Mejo were a gift to the Butler from the late magazine publisher Bob Guccione and his wife. Mr. Guccione was struck by the wonderment of these fascinating works of art which might best be characterized as somewhat primitive in style.\u00a0 They tell a wonderful story of America\u2019s challenges and triumphs. This exhibition is about a uniquely talented artist in love with his country and its history.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Dr. Louis Zona, Director<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n Oscar De Mejo, who was born in Trieste, Italy, had degrees in both law and political science. A believer in the occult and particularly in I Ching, he even chose his art dealer, Ken Nahan, according to the I Ching\u2019s advice. After World War II, he married the movie star Alida Valli (Italy\u2019s answer to Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich), and they moved to the United States. After a stint as a jazz composer, De Mejo finally returned to his first love-painting.<\/p>\n De Mejo\u2019s paintings are a mesmerizing mixture of the na\u00efve and the sophisticated, the literal and the outlandish. They are primitive in the sense of being direct, playful, brightly colored, and precisely delineated.\u00a0 His work is sophisticated in its choice of themes and the degree to which it is artfully influenced by the primitive. His witty, whimsical depictions of American life are immediately engaging, but upon closer observation their complexity becomes fully apparent, and his unique brand of surrealism is revealed. The myriad irrational and incongruous details that fill his paintings prod both the conscious and unconscious mind.<\/p>\n Oscar De Mejo learned about vision and subtle distortion by studying the work of such na\u00efve painters as Henri Rousseau, just as Rufino Tamayo learned how to disembody his peasants by studying Picasso.<\/p>\n De Mejo\u2019s works have been featured in such publications as the\u00a0New York Times<\/em>,\u00a0Yale Literary Magazine<\/em>,\u00a0Architectural Digest,<\/em> and many more. This exhibition can be seen in the lower level gallery of the Bacon Wing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”gcid-a65cf2a6-a309-4fe8-acbd-c8892e2f73ca” divider_weight=”2px” admin_label=”Do Not Edit” _builder_version=”4.20.0″ _module_preset=”default” width=”77%” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-a65cf2a6-a309-4fe8-acbd-c8892e2f73ca%22:%91%22color%22%93}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text admin_label=”Do Not Edit” _builder_version=”4.20.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”15px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n CATEGORIES:<\/strong> <\/p>\n DATE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Edit Location and Reception” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”15px||||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n LOCATION:<\/strong> Bacon Gallery, Beecher Center Ground 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