Dan Zinno: Improvisationist
with a Paint Brush

By John M. Ramirez

Art is a big business; unlike the days of old art is not as much about culture or an endeavor for the intellectual fringe wishing to dwell in Bohemia. With that as a foundation, lets now talk about Rhode Island native Dan Zinno.
Zinno, a Boston University graduate who presently resides in Georgetown, Texas (after a stint in L.A., California), is a standout to the countless of Fine Art graduates, who universities in the USA crank out every year. It sometimes seems everyone wants to be an artist, and it also seems the universities are cashing in on the layperson’s desire to become culturally fit.
Well is Zinno one of these poor drones marching into Artistic oblivion which has clogged the art scene in the US and abroad? In all honesty, no.
Zinno comes from an “academic” art school background, spending countless hours doing exercises to improve his ability to render form and color. An artist who believes in the traditional ”art process”, Zinno still stretches his own canvasses. Zinno’s work could be described as abstract expressionist and sort of reminiscent of the late, great master DeKooning.
The work is non-representational, large rectangle blotches carefully placed on the canvas creating colorful compositions. Zinno’s color palette is in general warm. The compositions are textured filled and pleasing to the senses. Zinno’s work has a duality; it looks spontaneous, but it feels as if Zinno spent countless hours preparing it's execution. I got to speak to Zinno on a Sunday evening a few weeks back, the conversation centered on everything from regional accents to the training of young painters. Zinno used the term "vocabulary" to describe his arsenal; the term and context it was used in made me think of the jazz improvisationist of the 20th century. Zinno, like those talented jazz maestros has honed his ability to recognize form, color and light.
Zinno's work is subdued, but contains a quality, which make his paintings memorable. If you interested in purchasing a painting for an apartment or studio Zinno's work would be a great investment. Zinno is a busy man and will be showing in several different venues around the country in the up and coming months.