Living and working in both Dallas and Umbria, the painter Barnaby Fitzgerald offers a perspective on Italy that encompasses everything from Roman antiquity to the day-to-day environment of an artist’s studio. The still-life paintings in his show at Valley House Gallery place mundane tools of the trade (tables, chairs, paintbrushes) side-by-side with flowers arranged in stunning beauty.
Scattered throughout are numerous examples of the eight-sided Bialetti moka coffee pot, a popular symbol of how the Italian-style good life is accessible to one and all. They suggest that, following the old adage that “a mathematician is someone who turns coffee into theorems,” a painter is someone who turns coffee into canvases.
Along with the still lives, several paintings have mythological figures posing easily in similarly low-key environments. They are indications that on the Italian peninsula (or within the verdant sculpture garden out in back of Valley House’s gallery), one is never more than a short walk away from something ancient, enchanting and mysterious.
Details: “Barnaby Fitzgerald: Tender Salvage” continues through July 18 at Valley House Gallery & Sculpture Garden, 6616 Spring Valley Road, Dallas. Open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (call on holidays). Free. 972-239-2441. www.valleyhouse.com.