WHAT REFUSES RESOLUTION

Invidia, 1965, 60” x 72” Oil on Canvas

from The Seven Deadly Sins Frank Rampolla (1931-1971)

I spent much of May photographing more than one hundred of my father’s paintings.

Looking closely at the work each day changed the way I think about surfaces, time, and what remains visible after we spend time with an image. The work rarely resolves quickly. The longer I looked, the more questions emerged.

What stays with me is not simply the image, but what remains unresolved within it.

Spending that much time with the paintings also made me think again about my own images, especially the ones where obstruction, layering, and partial visibility carry much of the weight.

What Time Stole, 2019, 33” x 33”, Archival Pigment Montage Print

Renato Rampolla

I’ve never been compelled to stay with images that resolve too quickly. What holds my attention are images that ask more questions than they answer and reveal themselves gradually, or only partially.

Ambiguity allows the work to keep unfolding over time.

Photographing the paintings did not lead me to any conclusion. If anything, it reinforced my interest in work that resists easy resolution.