On his website, artist Andrew Stevovich says there are two major influences on his work: the early Italian Renaissance, (from Giotto to Fran Angelico and Piero della Francesca), and Expressionism, (which I define to include not only artists such as Heckel, Munch and Beckmann, but also Gauguin and, though he is outside the category, Seurat).
"The humanism, abstraction and discipline of the former, the color and psychology of the latter, have all been of fundamental importance to my work," he writes.
Through Nov. 17, this Northborough artist's work is featured at Adelson Galleries Boston. The exhibit, "Games and Players," was chosen by Adam Adelson, director of the gallery.
"It reflects a narrative theme that runs through my work, from people gambling and playing cards to the relationships between couples," said Stevovich. "My work is fundamentally abstract with a figurative narrative. The narrative may be the most obvious part, but when I work, all of my energy is given to the abstract elements of a painting—the colors, forms, lines."
Stevovich's most significant influences have been Giotto and Botticelli, Memling, Whistler and Gauguin.
And what about music to paint by?
"I listen to a lot of different music while painting," he said, "but most often I'd say Edith Piaf, Cesaria Evora, Nina Simone, Julie London, Amy Winehouse. Bob Dylan too, Ray Charles, and the Rolling Stones, Miles Davis. I don't know what music my art would be -- have never thought about that -- probably a single voice backed by a couple of instruments."