January 8-30, 2016

CUBA

The inspiration for this project evolved from a desire to connect with our painting on a deeper level. Working in Cuba took us far from the comforts of our day-to-day life in Washington, D.C. Traveling to Cuba allowed us the opportunity to breathe new life and culture into our paintings. Cuba, although only 90 miles from the United States, felt like a different world–a world simply known as Cuba.

We stayed in a small fishing town called Cojimar, the town where Hemingway lived and wrote his most well-known novel “The Old Man and the Sea”. The paintings from our trip communicate the corrosion of the buildings and homes in Cuba. These paintings captures the smell of the ocean and the spirit of Cuba. Though the homes and architecture are crumbling, the people living among them carry a beautiful soul.

We were aware that access to materials would be limited, so we brought our own brushes and canvases. To stretch the canvases, we used a large piece of wood that was found in a trash pile close to our house. During the days, we would go out and draw in the surrounding neighborhoods, beaches, and streets of Havana. In the evenings, we created paintings based on the day’s sketches; some combined multiple drawings, while others were based on one composition.

Duly Noted Painters are the Washington, D.C. based artistic duo consisting of Kurtis Ceppetelli and Matthew Malone. The two painters met in 2009 while working at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. They soon discovered a way to explore something new, artistically; capturing and expressing real-time experiences and interactions on canvas. “Our creative process is a true collaboration, similar to jazz musicians, at times we work together simultaneously, while there are times where one steps back to observe the other until inspired to take action.”

In general, each piece starts with an exploratory idea or goal in mind. Their work pulls from multiple sources that ultimately guide them to a conclusion. Some things are left as is, re-positioned, altered, or removed entirely. Their process does not adhere to a set formula dictating who does what, when, rather their approach allows for dramatic changes within each artist and piece, leading to surprising and often unexpected results.
Whether hidden or exposed, everything left for the viewer to see contains bits and pieces from each of them. Together as Duly Noted and with an inherent understanding of their craft, they pick up the tools left by the artists before them in effort to continue a tradition in redefining what painting is.