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Fragment of a reference's letter


by Philip Pearlstein

(...)His paintings are unique in the way they imply the division between acute observation and depiction of real forms of nature and the philosophic questioning of the illusion of such naturalistic painting. The subject matter of Mr. Giuffre's paintings is the game of illusionism. The most famous example of which is Magritte's painting of a smoking pipe on the background of which is written "This is not a pipe", implicitly stating that it is only a symbol for a pipe that has been painted. Mr. Giuffre, without resorting to painting statements on his paintings, raises many similar points. In this manner he is extending the language of pictorial representation, and is operating in an area that is unique: a subtle combination of implied philosophy and pictorial invention. The fact that he is such a skillful inventor of pictorial images that are directly and elegantly painted, without shrill rhetoric, makes Mr. Giuffre a very valuable ally of the contemporary Realist painters in the USA. (...)

We need the strongest allies we can get, such as Mr. Hector Giuffre is.


Philip Pearlstein
Realist painter
New York, December 12, 1991