Chicago and beyond
paintings in oil by Christopher Buoscio

Mr. Buoscio likes his creations to be neither detailed nor vague but prefers something more on the "loose" side. He wants the viewer's eye to be drawn to specific spots in the paintings, like the movie screen in the painting, Orpheum Theater. Christopher Buoscio was influenced by Hitchcock and Film Noir movies that were set at night in various cities. He especially is interested in the angles in architecture and the angles made at night. This style shows through in his paintings that are dark and mysterious. He prefers not to show people in his work. "When one paints just space, they can show the quality and care put into buildings once, and how they looked," shared Christopher Buoscio.

He has worked on etchings and drawings of cities and the night effect on them. He also has explored the emptiness of the scenes. He doesn't see his paintings as gloomy depictions of buildings; rather he sees a symbolic side to their darkness and lifelessness. He described how if there were people in his paintings or if it were daytime like a regular business day, one would be able to tell the time period by the fashions of the people, for example. He prefers there to be only lonely structures that could be at any time. One could view one of his paintings and imagine the scene as it was years ago. He described his work as a "new and old excitement," but he struggled to express what he wanted to convey through his art. "I can't completely describe it," Buoscio told us. He paints so one can feel the material. For example, in one of his pieces not in our gallery, he said he used a transparent colored paint for glass. For marble and stone buildings, he uses a thicker paint texture and darker color to give them a heavy feeling.

One of Mr. Buoscio's struggles has been that when he is in the midst of painting a building it, may be torn down. He also sees this as a positive thing, though, because his artwork becomes historical. Christopher Buoscio paints buildings and scenes that are significant to him, but others can also relate to the surroundings of the image. He does not paint touristy places like the Sears Tower or Buckingham Fountain. His Morton Salt painting is a great example of how the setting is a landmark to Chicagoans, but not something a tourist would visit or recognize. Another of Buoscio's paintings Greektown Candle Shop is of a typical street corner in Greektown. He told us he did this very recently.

After looking and finding a subject matter, often he will spend a day or two with his camera to capture what he has seen and planned in his mind. Then he will use these photographs along with sketches and revisits to the location to complete the work. "The photographs are a tool, the paintings are much more about drawing and paint than photography," states the artist. For one specific painting, he took photos from the roof of a building looking down on the intersection near the Board of Trade instead of the usual approach from its front. All of his work is unique: some would say a little gloomy or even spooky.

Buoscio likes this eerie appearance. In one of his paintings, a funeral home is featured in colors that create a "sickly yellow night" appearance. Each of his paintings has its own affect, specific idea, and specific space. Mr. Buoscio paints with the actual colors he sees in the scene. He says, "One can look for hours and still not say what color and weather the painting is really about."

Occasionally he paints people, "but then it is a snapshot of time," which he dislikes. Actually, the theater, at the time Buoscio saw it, had people in the seats. He even painted these people in with great detail, but he decided to paint them out for a different look. Sometimes a specific painting is very time consuming for him. "I spend time to get the right images; sometimes I do five versions for one painting," he said. Mr. Buoscio told us that the two theater paintings are actually like "color studies for each other and the base of one another." He still isn't satisfied with the stage, but it looks impressive to the viewers' eyes. Christopher Buoscio is a talented, realistic painter. Looking at his paintings, one sees the scene

as he saw it, or a person long ago could have seen it. Without having met with him, we would not have been fortunate enough to know about the timeless feeling he associates with his artwork. Before March 10 arrives, be certain to visit the Almquist Gallery (hours, 8:00 - 3:00, Monday - Friday and by appointmemnt) in order to view these wonderful and thoughtful views of Chicago. Also, view more works by Christopher Buoscio at his website, www.buoscio.com.

By Kelsey Andersen, '06
Interview by Kelsey Andersen with help from Lusia Zaitseva, '06 and JZ Milla, '06

Return to www.buoscio.com exhibits