Richard Grieco at Gallerie Sparta in August

Photo courtesy of Richard Grieco. (c) 2013

If you're one of the many who have been clamoring on Twitter and in other social media outlets about wanting to see Richard's artwork in all its full-scale glory, you're in luck--at least, if you're in the Los Angeles area or willing to travel.

The Gallerie Sparta will be showing Richard's paintings from August 10 through September 1. Location and hours are posted on the Gallerie's Facebook page.

If you're not familiar with Richard Grieco's paintings, I'd strongly suggest that you take a few minutes a couple of hours to browse his website, Grieco Fine Art. Back in February, I posted about my initial response to Grieco's artwork, but even in that relatively short period of time, the paintings Richard is posting have evolved.

What intrigued me most back in the winter was that so many of his paintings appeared to have an underlying layer that had been at least partially obscured by masses of fine lines. For me, this brought to mind a person writing down his secrets and then covering them over, so they'd been poured out onto the page but remained secure. Those paintings aroused my curiosity, creating some sense that if I looked closely enough I might be able to read pieces of that obscured message.

I really liked that batch and was a little sorry to see that period fade away so quickly, but the variety that's emerged since has been just as compelling. I was recovering from surgery when Looking Through Forest Blind appeared, and I was pretty sure that I'd heal faster with that piece on my wall.  Though the title suggests that it might not have been intended this way, the fine lines and light, bright colors gave me a sunny, hopeful feeling. On the other hand, pieces like Richard's recent Self Portrait # 1 make me worry about what's going on inside the man.

The vast majority, though, simply convey bold emotion in a way that makes it clear that, whatever other talents Grieco might have, pouring his soul out onto canvas is what he was born to do. If you're interested in these paintings because you were a 21 Jump Street fan or because you happen to have noticed that the artist himself is really freaking beautiful, you're missing something. They'd hit you just as hard on the wall of a little gallery in Provincetown or a coffee shop in Chicago.