Art Commentary With Marion Wolberg Weiss
ARTIST COUPLES: LINDA AND JOHN CAPELLO
While it’s true that Linda and John Capello are both artists,
their commonality almost ends there. Professionally speaking, for example,
they both work in different media – Linda is a figurative artist;
John is a sculptor. Their personal demeanors are dissimilar as well.
According to Ms. Capello, “John can go for days working on a piece.
I have to remind him to eat.” Ms. Capello gives a different impression,
her concentration fragmented, as she must juggle a lot of things at
the same time. “I can’t work on a drawing for 16 hours,”
she says with a smile.
Their differences were apparent from the time they first met, when sixteen-year-old
Ms. Capello became her future husband’s model. Although they both
grew up in Brooklyn, they come from diverse ethnic backgrounds –
Ms. Capello is Jewish and Mr. Capello is Italian.
Yet their relationship strengthened and grew as the pair went their
separate professional ways, Ms. Capello working as a fashion illustrator
and Mr. Capello helping his brother, who was an ecclesiastical restorer.
(They used to practice their trade by cutting images into the rocks
at Brighton Beach.)
Through the years, however, the couple developed similar values.
The most apparent to this critic, at least, is their keen sense of community
(particularly the public school system) and their feelings on the negative
aspects of marketing art.
It also seems that their art has common elements, although the similarities
are subtle. While Mr. Capello uses mostly white marble to create his
elegant forms, his graceful lines and respect for texture mirror his
wife’s predominantly female figures. Attention to the aesthetics
of line and movement is also something the couple shares in their art.
Perhaps most important is the way emotion plays a part in both of their
work.
This is not to suggest that the pair’s subject matter is comparable.
Mr. Capello, for example, was greatly influenced by Dali, and many of
his early paintings recall Dali’s surrealistic themes. As he notes,
“I fell in love with Dali – I was caught up in his dream.”
Nowadays, we wouldn’t call Mr. Capello’s sculpture “surreal,”
but a combination of abstraction and representation. His current show
at New York’s Nabi Gallery is a good example of that style –
his alabaster “Daphne” is both intricate and intimate, the
details abstract but recognizable. His “Owl,” made of sandstone,
is likewise abstract and objective. Both pieces are evocative of mythic
figures, as is a third work, “Eve.”
Ms. Capello’s drawings often seem gestural, but they are always
evocative, her figures coming alive before the viewer’s eyes.
Her quick strokes apparently stem from her days as an illustrator for
print ads, where speed (especially for runway modeling) was essential.
Ms. Capello is proud of the fact that she’s a long-time teacher
of figure drawing at The Southampton Cultural Center, where she has
also been an active member of the Southampton Artists Association.
While the couple may go their separate ways, artistically speaking,
their home is always a welcoming spot for friends. And there’s
always something cooking on the stove. “Thanksgiving is here every
day,” Ms. Capello notes with conviction.
Linda Capello’s work can be seen at Southampton’s Hampton
Road Gallery. John Capello’ s sculpture is on view at New York’s
Nabi Gallery, 212- 929-6063.
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