"The Imagination of Art Venti"  invites you to enjoy Art Venti's "pencil paintings" – magnificent, extremely detailed works created with layers and layers of delicate colored pencil strokes on very large paper. His compositions often address environmental and socio/political issues. The larger pieces take 3-5 months to complete. Since moving to Sarasota, Florida, he has produced his largest and most complex and meticulous works, the sizes having increased up to 110” in width. This is your opportunity to view them, and to meet and talk to the artist.   

In this exhibition of selected recent works, Venti’s imagination is not constrained to conveniently fit into any one category: there are elements of abstraction and glimpses of "reality." One might guess at surrealism, but these original works cannot be narrowly defined to fit into even such a broad genre. Venti's objective is about taking a fresh look at the traditional landscape.

By using this familiar format, a dialogue is created between the viewer and the image. The brain always attempts to organize the lines, shapes and colors it perceives; with no easy reference point, there may be no connection. A recognizable arrangement, even though out of the ordinary, begins the communication.

Art Venti is a NY born artist celebrated for his unusually imaginative large scale color pencil work on archival paper.

He has been a professional artist for over 40 years. He is a Signature Member of the Color Pencil Society of America (CPSA), having won several awards in their national and international juried shows. His work was displayed as the “heading” artwork on the CPSA homepage.

Primarily exhibiting in California, since 1982, (San Francisco and Los Angeles), and then moving to London, UK in 2016, where he lived, worked and exhibited for four years with his English wife Jennifer. The couple then relocated to the US, this time to Florida in 2020.