"I paint in an attempt to create a beautiful object; an object that 
resonates with some quality of soul or magic. The scribe is aware
that the subject of his record is sacred and therefore he labors 
willfully to infuse his work with beauty. I share this same 
willfulness in creating a painting." (Maisano)
 
The enchanting imagery found in Patrick Maisano's paintings 
tells a universal story in the timeless language of myth. This is
art that elicits a response from our most basic level; pure, 
instinctual, spiritually primal. Mythical beings, mystical beasts,
and religious iconography combine to create magical 
compositions that are joyful, haunting, metaphysical, and very 
beautiful. His work is transcendental and immediate, masculine 
and feminine, testimonial and celebratory.
 
" The imagery speaks to the mystery of our existence, it does 
not provide answers, rather it testifies to the presence of the 
mystery." (Maisano) Maisano believes that Carl Jung's idea of a
collective unconscious, "the part of the psyche that retains and 
transmits the common psychological inheritance of mankind" is
useful in explaining the archetypal imagery contained in his 
work.
 
Regarding his creative process Maisano states, "My paintings 
begin without a preconceived subject. Paint is applied to the 
canvas in a manner which establishes variations in values; 
within these light and dark patterns, forms are suggested. Once 
a form is accepted, it is then deliberately developed into the 
imagery of the painting."
 
 Born April, 1964 in New Haven, Connecticut, Maisano 
graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1986. He was 
about to enter graduate studies in pursuit of a fine art teaching 
credential when a compelling force drew him in a different 
direction. Maisano spent a year contemplating a religious 
vocation at a Franciscan Community in New York City. 
During this period of deliberation over a religious life, a reading 
of Otto Rank's Art and Artist resonated with personal truth and 
Maisano decided that his intended path was that of an artist 
rather than a priest. In 1992, Maisano left New York for 
California where he constructed a reclusive lifestyle devoted 
solely to his art. Since 1992 Patrick Maisano has shown his 
work annually, and his paintings have been placed in distinguished 
American collections.
 
To clarify esthetic theory, Joseph Campbell looks to James 
Joyce in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Joyce 
distinguishes "proper art" as that which truly belongs to Art, 
and affirms Aquinas' statement that the esthetic object renders 
three moments. Translated from Latin the moments are, 
"Wholeness", "Harmony", and "Radiance." Perhaps these are 
the qualities that best define the Art of Patrick Maisano.
 

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