dario campanile

Dario Campanile’s journey started in Rome, Italy, where he was born on April 21, 1948. Dario expressed an affinity for art as a young boy. When he was 14, the artist was bedridden with a kidney ailment for three months, and his father gave him a set of oil paints to cheer him up. He painted his first still life in just a few days. A self-taught artist, once Campanile had mastered the tools, he was off on a free-spirited ride, never quite sure where he was going, but always secure in the knowledge that his natural gifts and instincts would take him into exciting new realms. Meetings with Salvador Dali, who coined him the “Roman Master,” and De Chirico influenced his work as a painter. In 1986, Dario was commissioned to redesign and create a new logo for the famed Paramount Pictures. In 2005, Dario was invited to participate in a project called “Missing Peace”. Dario met the Dalai Lama at his home in India, where he posed for a portrait exhibited in the project.

After decades of painting realism and surrealism, Campanile’s work has evolved into abstract expressionism, which is now the artist’s main focus and passion. Here, he describes what it is like to create his renowned abstract paintings.

Dario Campanile – Artist Statement on working in Abstract  

          “Working in abstract for me is the most direct and pure form of artistic expression coming from my unconscious. The challenge is to be able to trust and surrender and allow the channel of creativity to come through me, like an open vessel. This process, most of the time, is very daring because I want to make sure that the pure essence of child-like energy comes through the body and mind of the adult. My main goal is to be able to express my true soul and continue my journey by taking risks and always allowing myself to explore new visions.”  

Dario Campanile has lived in the United States for the past 50+ years, living in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Maui, Hawaii, and Naples, FL. He has gallery representation in Greenwich, CT, Maui, and Greensboro, NC. After 60+ years of artistic expression, he is unceasingly inspired by the beauty in the world and continues his journey through art.