{"id":221422,"date":"2025-09-12T17:29:21","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T17:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/221422\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T17:29:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T17:29:21","slug":"joseph-renda-jr-s-surreal-trompe-loeil-portals-frame-esoteric-scenes-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/221422\/","title":{"rendered":"Joseph Renda Jr.’s Surreal Trompe-l’\u0153il Portals Frame Esoteric Scenes \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the paintings of Joseph Renda Jr.<\/a>, trompe-l\u2019\u0153il windows, arches, and blue skies meet in surreal settings. His Ren\u00e9 Magritte<\/a>-esque canvases celebrate nature and the uncanny, sometimes infused with a tinge of humor, to encourage an appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things. Instead of focusing on the subconscious, like the 20th-century Surrealists, Renda emphasizes elements of our surroundings\u2014birds, gardens, flowers, and expansive landscapes\u2014which nevertheless possess rich symbolism.<\/p>\n

Birds, for example, have traditionally represented freedom, optimism, and connections to spiritual worlds. Plants, storms, tools, and myriad other motifs carry their own inherent meanings, from notions of growth and transformation to balance and justice. Situated within windows and archways, we\u2019re invited to peer into\u2014but not quite enter\u2014an esoteric world. And the blue sky sometimes cracks to reveal what may, in fact, be a fa\u00e7ade with who-knows-what beyond what we can see.<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cRough Waters\u201d<\/p>\n

Renda\u2019s recent stone arch pieces are included in a three-person show at Vertical Gallery<\/a>, The Scenic Route, alongside Jerome Tiunayan and Laura Catherwood. The exhibition runs through September 27 in Chicago. Find more on Renda\u2019s website<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cThe Sky Is Falling\u201d<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cMemory\u201d<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cWhere the Day Meets the Night\u201d<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cPassing By\u201d<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cStop and Let the Roses Smell You\u201d<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cPerspective\u201d<\/p>\n

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