Tony Caltabiano, a Southern California artist, focuses on the wilderness that tenuously exists beyond the reach of stucco and wire. Not only does the artist focus on panoramic landscapes, but frequently returns to the same local hills dotted with twisted oaks and wind swept indigenous grasses. What he encounters is a land at war within itself. Native species fighting for survival against introduced species.

Caltabiano sees these quiet struggles as a parallel to the inward struggle within our human nature. Our Creator calls us to remember what we were meant to be. Becoming what we are supposed to be is where the struggle begins, not where it ends. His images rarely refer to a specific location but may point to places both distant, and nearby, all the while reaching toward the remote and anonymous places within the viewer.

The artist’s use of medium and large format cameras spanning from the 19th and 20th centuries adds an array of unique vintage modernism to his studies. After printing the images, he often paints into them with oil and acrylic glazes. Painting into the photographs further pushes the distinction between realities through the process of painting. The emerging landscapes become more than photographic images.

Often Caltabiano’s images span several feet in length. The images he records are more than just the landscape in front of him. They are the world experienced through the lens where he encounters the intimacy of the landscape face to face.

Tony Caltabiano has exhibited his work widely in Southern California. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Fine Art with an emphasis on Painting from Biola University in La Mirada, California in 1992.

For further information about this exhibition or for a private viewing, please contact the gallery at (305) 576-4278 or via email at art@abbafineart.com.   For press inquiries and image requests please contact ABBA FINE ART.