Highly imaginative

creates whimsical paintings of anthropomorphized landscapes with an extraordinary level of detail and depth. Previous works have depicted lush woodland fantasies, revealing saturated forests filled with faces as distinct features emerge from hills, rocks and tree trunks, sprouting limbs in place of roots and branches.

In

, the artist’s work follows a dramatic new direction of fiery volcanic imagery. Twisted figures rise through mushrooming clouds of soot and smoke with faces comprised of burnt debris, their bodies as vulnerable and combustible as pyres. Smoldering peaks loom in the distance specked with glowing cinders and embers, as lava flows from black soot-covered craters like the life’s blood of the earth.

Back in 2010, when we first saw the work of Palmero, Italy based fine artist, Fulvio di Piazza, we knew there was something special going on. Now, di Piazza has a new solo show back at Jonathan LeVine Gallery, full of oil on canvas surreal mindwarps, based on the economic writings of Jeremy Rifkin, and his 1980 book, Entropy. Jonathan LeVine Gallery Imaginative? Yes. Dark? Of course. Like a horror movie directed by Tim Burton? Yeah, a little like that. But these are done with oils!



From (where di Piazza's Ashes to Ashes is up through July 28, 2012):Fulvio Di PiazzaAshes to Ashes