The artist Rene Capone in front of some of his work at the Live Art Gallery.

Currently at the Live Art Gallery from April 18-May 29 is the work of 26-year-old Bay Area Artist Rene Capone. His opening on Saturday, April 23 garnered 45-50 visitors, a few sales and most likely some new fans.

Capone is sweet and mild-mannered, and this temperament is evident in his work. He is primarily a watercolor artist whose basis is figurative realism. Capone explained to me that his first goal as an artist was to master the human form—and most of his earlier work reflects this quest. Having successfully perfected this, he is now working on developing his own style. He sets himself apart from other realists by adding fantasy/surreal elements; depicting the same realistic figures in his work, and then distorting the images with various parallel lines of different colors. Using these layering effect ads additional emotional tones to his characters, providing depth to their situations by actually covering them up. These lines are meant to represent the ever-flowing energies that people exude. “Everyone walks around with their own sense of time and presence,” said Capone, “and they don’t always see these energies around.”

A second theme in Capone’s work is palpable in the title of one piece, “Evidence of a computer thinking like a human.” He explained to me that his images resemble what would happen if a computer decided one day that it was lonely; and when no one was looking, it tried to download “love” or “companionship.” The distorted images represent the computer’s ability to pick up these otherwise invisible energies, as well as its inability to find what it wants by searching with those terms. “Most likely it would be directed to a porn site,” Capone said.

Capone’s work is definitely not very pornographic; the sexuality is present but in a subtle, soft way. Most of Capone’s current work embodies a sense of ease and well-being; the characters appear self-reflective but not pensive about their contemplations.

Also on display with his figurative paintings are a series consisting of a “watchtower” in various settings. This body of work paired with his distorted figure series is complementary because the watchtowers also convey a sense of movement and vitality. It’s as if you can see the energy flow from one of his paintings to the next. The Live Art Gallery itself is an open and airy space, enhancing this sense of fluidity.

Overall the show is very pleasant; it leaves you with a general peacefulness and sense that everything is going to be okay. I would like to see what Capone could do when he harvests other energies, like that of rage or sadness. A glimpse of this is evident in “Who is it, where did it happen, and when,” which depicts the same character, three times over, about to stab each other. It has a more sinister overtone to it, and revealed an edge to Capone that doesn’t appear in the rest of the show.
The Live Art Gallery is located at 151 Potrero Avenue and will be showing Capone’s work until May 29. You can call the gallery at 263-0980 to set up a viewing appointment or contact the artist directly at www.renecapone.com.