Victor Mirabelli’s modern landscape paintings reflect the undaunted beauty of the countryside and structures that surround him. His approach is undisciplined, free-spirited—an abandonment from the traditional—resulting in something “fresh and imaginative.”

Mirabelli attributes his style to his art education and execution of his early abstract oil paintings. Each work is the result of “chance-taking.” His fresh approach combined with a technique of layering many pigments and unique brush and scrubbing techniques, create a painterly quality that is his signature mark. 

Mirabelli’s works reflect an impression, a mood—where detail is characterized by his use of contrasting light against dark. Using a muted palette to represent the purity and simplicity of the land, his artistic endeavors have often been described as “haunting and soul-baring…a very personal, solitary interpretation of the surrounding landscape.”

Born in Wenatchee, Washington, along the Columbia River, which runs through the Basalt canyons bordering the Colville Indian reservation, Victor was drawn to the dry, arid summer air blanketing the sagebrush hills where weather-beaten farmhouses stood abandoned along dusty dirt roads. These stark impressions were the inspiration behind his personal journey into the world of modern landscape painting.

He pursued his formal art education at the Burnley School of Professional Art in Seattle and later moved to New York City in the late 70s. Victor’s loft at 36 East 23rd Street, overlooking Madison Square Park, offered inspiration and space to discover and develop his style while immersing himself in New York’s art world.

One of the benefits of living in New York City was spending time in the nearby East End of Long Island’s North and South Forks, bordering the Long Island Sound, the Peconic Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. In addition to some of the most striking beaches in the world, the area celebrates lush landscapes featuring farmland and vineyards. The beauty of the countryside and waterside serves as a major inspiration in Victor’s drawings and paintings. To this day, he takes insight from the warm earth tones, classic Long Island farmhouses and rural country outposts and barns.

Upon his arrival, he started working as a visual display artist for Bergdorf Goodman and B. Altman and Company. Mr. Mirabelli was invited by Charles Jourdan to design the Fifth Avenue store windows using his paintings as backdrops for their merchandise. “Playland” a Coney Island theme, integrated POP figurative imagery using bright sign and oil paints. These assemblages incorporated fabric and wooden elements including targets and mesh wire. Charles Jourdan shoes were artfully displayed within this installation.

He subsequently moved on to a successful career as a designer/art director for several advertising agencies. He particularly enjoyed working with design studios specializing in print publication launches and redesigns for such publications as Forbes, Food & Wine, The New York Times Magazine and the Chicago Daily News.

As a fine artist, Victor has worked in many mediums—oil, pastel, sign paint and watercolors on a multitude of surfaces: canvas, paper and wood. He has also created a collection of 3D shadow boxes and small metal/assemblage sculptures.

As his style developed, Mirabelli moved from abstract/figurative to modern landscapes. His shapes and colors mimic the earth and surrounding structures while capturing the intricacies of nature’s light. His artistic journey evolved from many influences starting with his art education and subsequent exposure to visual display and graphic design. His landscape paintings clearly show an awareness of the placement and design of objects and the use of positive and negative space.

Mirabelli has exhibited extensively in both solo and group juried shows. Private collectors throughout the US have acquired his work. He has served as a guest lecturer and juror for many art organizations and competitions.

Victor Mirabelli is a member of the Salmagundi Club, New York, NY; the Edward Hopper House, Nyack, NY; and the Garrison Art Center, Garrison, NY. He has been a past associate member of the Northeast Watercolor Society, a member of the Catskill Art Society and the Kent Art Association, and a sustaining associate member of the American Watercolor Society.

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