Through August, artist Daniel Imburgia will be showing works at the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts (WICA) Lasher Gallery. To learn more about Imburgia’s creative process, inspiration, and much more, check out the following Q&A with the artist.
WICA: When did you first become interested in this art form?
Imburgia: “After I encountered my first Van Gogh in the 6th grade I became interested in what paint could do. I was raised Roman Catholic by my Sicilian grandparents so I was also influenced by ecclesial iconography/icons; which I also later went on to “Write” (as they say in Eastern Orthodoxy), but constructing images/meaning with paint has been my main focus—with constructing images/meaning with language a close second.”
WICA: How do you determine the subject matter?
Imburgia: “Many/All ways. For example, the “Horse Slaughter Camp” painting was first conceived more than 50 years ago when I worked on the Yakama Indian Reservation and learned of the horrific slaughter of 900 Indian ponies near Spokane in 1859. Over the next 5 decades I made some sketches, wrote some poetry and songs, read Sherman Alexie’s short story about the massacre, attempted several paintings, and then at the beginning of Covid lockdown I (with the help of artist friends) constructed the mural now installed here at WICA. After that I encountered a science magazine that described “gynandgomorphism” and after doing some research I was so taken with the beauty of these amazing beings that I began painting gynandromorph butterflies. The painting titled “The Inventions of Eve” was inspired by a trip to the Sistine chapel and Vatican museum where I first began reimagining alternative creation stories that might challenge the patriarchichal narratives that have dominated Western cultures.”
WICA: What do you love most about what you do?
Imburgia: “Creativity.”
WICA: What is it like for you to show your pieces at WICA?
Imburgia: “This will be my first show at WICA, and so far I greatly appreciate all the enthusiastic support for my work and the amazing opportunity this place/people offer to so many different types of art/artists. Much obliged.”
To view the art pieces, please visit WICA’s Lasher Gallery during regular business hours or by appointment.