Meet the Artist Dennis Paul Batt

Saturday, April 25, 2:00 pm

Artist and Curator Dennis Paul Batt will talk about the upcoming exhibition Commesso: Made in America "Gemstone Fine Art" at Oceanside Museum of Art. Batt will discuss the process and history behind Commesso and how he shapes stones to fit intricate designs during an informal "Meet the Artist" on Saturday, April 25th at 2:00 pm.  The exhibition will be on view March 2 - May 1, 2009, in the Parker Gallery. Commesso: Made in America is the first accredited art museum exhibition of the American-made fine art of creating commesso di piete dure e tenere, stone mosaic pictures. The artwork is made from precise placement of hand-cut rocks and gemstones, with an occasional shell or other hard material. Pietre Dure means hard stone, such as agates, jades, jaspers, quartz, sugilite, and chalcedony. Pietre Tenere means softer stone such as marbles, lapis lazuli, malachite, coral, opal, and turquoise. Each stone has to be hand-cut and placed into the mosaic painting without grout, requiring countless hours of intense concentration and skill. The American style of Commesso started in the 1930s and reached its peak in the late 1960s – 1980s. Today Commeso is a nearly extinct art form with few American practitioners and is rarely exhibited. To learn more about the American version of this art form, please see: www.americanmastersofstone.com.

The Parker Gallery is located on the 2nd level of Oceanside Museum of Art and is designed for special projects. Admission to "Meet the Artist" is free with museum admission and complimentary for members of Oceanside Museum of Art as a benefit of membership. For more information call the museum at 435-3720 or on-line at www.oma-online.org.