"A tired smile" Drawing

Born in 1964, Red Tweny is no stranger to
high expectations and personal tragedy.
As the first of two children, his childhood
was restricted by an overprotective
mother who perhaps imprinted the sense
of insecurity and estrangement from
reality which has so often factored into
both his life and his work.
His artistic talent was revealed at
an early age. In an attempt to foster
Red’s abilities, his mother made it a
point to religiously attend all of the
contemporary art exhibitions that passed
through Rome during the mid-1970’s.
By age 12 he was also studying under
the tutelage of an illustrator at the local
college he would later graduate from.
At age 20, personal tragedy struck with
the untimely passing of his father, who
Red, himself, found lifeless. This event
deeply marked his psyche and has
impacted the style and subjects of his
artwork ever since. He graduated in 1984 from the Mary
Mount College in Rome. The institution’s
pedagogic method, characterized by
a humanistic philosophy on religion,
gave a prominent role to the spiritual
nourishment of his creativity. Since
then he’s been actively attending
exhibitions all around Rome in the
search for new subjects. In 1985,
his artistic talent landed him a job
in the advertising department of Eni,
an Italian energy company, where he
remained throughout the 90s. This
position allowed him the opportunity
to collaborate with several large
international agencies, which influenced
his own work; combining elements of classical, surreal painting with graphical
design. He primarily made the use of
watercolours throughout this period but
switched to black ink in 2000, which
made his work instantly recognizable.
Tweny’s work is now characterized by
an exaggerated use of black ink and his
subject matter leaves vivid impressions
with his audiences. He does not make
use of subtext, but rather overtly throws
the essence of his work in the forefront
for all to see. This work centers around
the lovely futility of attempting to find
meaning in a tangled existence.
He frequently depicts subjects
experiencing extreme emotions, which
he likens to capturing the expressions of someone going through un-anesthetized
surgery. The use of only black and
white is used to heighten the feeling
of violence, coldness, and desolation
in the human condition.