"Uncovering the Surface"- Review of the Orazio Salati Retrospective

Impression of the one-man show at The Roberson Museum in Binghamton, NY- Brian Keeler

"Uncovering the Surface" is a perfectly apt title to this wonderful show at the Roberson Museum in Binghamton, NY of the work of Orazio Salati.  The exhibit presents dozens of works (77 to be exact) from the past 50 years with nearly three years required  in preparation.

 Salati has been a mover, shaker, inspirer and supporter of the arts in the Southern Tier of New York, Northeastern Pennsylvania and beyond for decades.  He is well known as a gallerist, as he's operated his own gallery on State Street in Binghamton for the past 25 years- where he's featured the work of other artists mostly.  The author had a one-man show there in 2011. His studio has been in the back room and he has occasionally shown his own work there.  He has also been an art educator in the region for many years.  He started in 1972 as an elementary art teacher at the Johnson City Elementary School and then became one of the art faculty at Union Endicott High School in 1975. He also did a stint at Keystone College in La Plume, PA (near Scranton, PA).

As a teacher, Salati was responsible for instruction in a variety of mediums, including ceramics, weaving, drawing, painting, jewelry, tapestry and knitting.  With such a diverse background the effects on his work would eventually bear fruit. 

Orazio Salati- At the Roberson Museum with one of his paintings.

So it is no surprise that the Roberson Museum is honoring one of their native sons with a spectacular

exhibit beautifully presented in the spacious upstairs gallery.  The show was arranged by Orazio and staff members, Roberta Wackett and Peter Klosky,- both longtime curators and preparators at the Roberson.  Most of the works have been generously loaned by patrons of the artist for this show, but there are a few pieces which are still available for sale.

The surface to all these works is alluring (but the color and contect are not to be dismissed either), so we can understand the exhibit's title.  Just a casual look will entice the viewer to look beyond the imagery to the process and beauty of the works.  As all works are well designed with an inherent abstract artistry, we can appreciate the internal workings of Orazio as he manipulates the images and mediums  His approach to art is both personal and historically founded with unique and profound narratives.  There is a large number of acrylic paintings but many of these works use the ancient technique of encaustic (wax based) medium, but combined with tar, oil, pigments and crafted with, of all things, a blow torch.  And most of his works do not utilize the traditional paint brush- but are crafted with such common tools as a carpenter's nail or many other devices- such as rollers, blades and knives.  Salati was first introduced to the use of the blow torch with encaustic and tar at a workshop in Provincetown, MA with Cynthia Packard.  The torch helps to fuse and blend the work in amazing and sometimes unpredictable ways.  The tactile surfaces are a result of the bubbling, oozing and blending caused by the heat. The nuance of subtle hue shifts within these textures is the result.  The more realistic work often does not contain such build ups, as with the self portrait shown below. These encaustic paintings often take months to complete and months to fully cure or dry. Conveniently for visitors to the museum, there is a video running continuously of Salati which shows how he actually works.

Above- a detail of a large self portrait. The medium is referred to Penture, a French term that references the 19th century tradition of painting over photographs.

Above- One of Salati's large acrylic abstractions.

  Entering the main section of the gallery we encounter a series of paintings with Native American imagery with a deep personal significance to the artist. The realistic imagery of these figurative paintings is accomplished and engaging.  The narrative behind adds depth his involvement and to our appreciation.  Salati explains that after disquieting experiences that led to vertigo he was referred to a past life regression therapist, who helped connect him to the American Indian element.  Revealed in these sessions was a massacre of the Oglala Sioux in the 19th century.  Salati in a previous life was somehow a witness or survivor or one of the victims of one of these atrocities.  This eventually resulted in a partnership with his therapist who found Salati's paintings to be perfect for illustrating her book.  The author, Janet Cunningham eventually published her book A Tribe Returned with the cover illustration by Salati.  It is on display in the gallery. A film based on the book and illustrations was considered but has not been realized. 

The process of painting and working through the story of the assaults on indigenous peoples and their culture eventually led to a healing for Salati, and as he explains in the wall text, there was an angelic-like movement and the storm lifted. Speaking of the wall text, it would behoove visitors to avail themselves of these descriptive supplements to the images.  So, we see on many levels how the exhibit's title is relevant as the artist probes his own being and life as well as the paint surface. A word comes to mind that aptly goes with this theme, palimpsest.  It refers to the text on the velum or goat and calf skins used by scribes in ancient times.  The text was erased or scraped off many times- but the underlying writing could still be extracted with the perseverance and patience of scholars.  So, it is with Salati's work, that we viewers can share the process and see the past in the present. In this case, rather than text on vellum, we see pigments, wax and tar coalescing and morphing into the imagery. 

Above- One of Salati's acrylic paintings utilizing Native American imagery.

Salati presents us with an overview of his career in many aspects from his early work with fiber, which he began studying at Buffalo State University in Buffalo, NY and through his photography and on into acrylic paintings and his hybrid medium of oil, wax and tar on panels.  His use of photographs also becomes a unique combination as he paints on top of photos with great skill to create truly accomplished and memorable images. His self portrait in the entrance to the main gallery and the combination of academic-like figure studies that use the male nude are part of the group that uses paint on photos.  The hybrid technique was developed in the 19th century in France and is called painting penture or photo penture. Even still lifes, landscapes and abstractions are presented.  The exhibit has a wonderful unity even though it spans five decades.  Perhaps the beautiful color of the show is one of the emotional and beautiful results.  Just standing at any place in the gallery we can appreciate the high chroma and effective sensibilities. 

You can see the influence of other artists on Salati's work.  I like to think of his early years in Italy, as he did not arrive here in the states until he was 7 in 1955.  As I too have spent time in Italy I was interested in this influence.  Rather than a direct falling into the tradition of the Renaissance or other periods Salati believes the homage to his mother country is one of being in his DNA. He studied for a semester at the Duccio di Buoninsegna School in Siena Italy. And he has returned many times since.  We can see some architectural elements entering into one piece, inspired by facades in Italy and we can appreciate the chiaroscuro in his figure paintings.  As a note of his reverence for Italian artistic tradition he was fortunate enough to be invited to climb the scaffolds in the Sistine Chapel during the renovations of those frescoes.  He asked permission of the curator to touch the surface and it was granted.  His work as a whole defies categorization.  It is abstract yes, but not like Jackson Pollock or others, it is sometimes realistic or representational but the work resists too much comparison to others.  There are other paintings that elicit the spiritual and musical abstractions (non-objective) work of Kandinsky. This unique vision, synthesis and journey is represented here and is the culmination of a life devoted to forging his imagery with integrity and verve.   Viewing the work is exciting and inspiring.  Artists will find his ideas and techniques enthralling.

Above- a female nude using the encaustic method.

The beauty of the surfaces of these works certainly is worth considering, as with the female nude shown above but not so much in the penture works that use photos. Paint quality is integral to the idea of surface and worth considering. Here is a succinct definition of paint quality from the recent book, Last Light by Richard Lacayo:

Monet had taken the implication of his brushwork to its logical conclusion: that the paint as much as the painted, was the real point of a modern picture. In that case even the plainest scenes could be translated into a canvas packed with complexities.

Even though Salati does not use a brush for most of his work, the idea of paint and surface being beautifully independent, but related to the image, as articulated by Lacayo, still applies. And again, we appreciate the title of the exhibit, Uncovering the Surface as being instructive.

Salati has shown widely over his career.  His work was represented in prestigious galleries in New York City (in SOHO and Chelsea)  for several years and his art was part of a touring national show in the 1990's.  He has also shown in Italy in his hometown Anara, and in a biannual in Florence and another show in Germany.  He has also done many commissioned works including a 40 foot wall mural for the Wilson Hospital in Binghamton.  His work is also in the permanent collection of the Roberson Museum.

The Roberson Museum show continues through April 12, 2006.  A catalog of the exhibit is being prepared and will be available by November. 

View a video interview with Orazio and Brian as they tour the Roberson exhibit, recorded on October 22, 2025.

https://youtu.be/zTIEb6sNpcU?si=B0Sg4ONZYTUoKTWv

Keeler and Salati at the Roberson Mueum.