My name is V.F. Wolf and I am a mixed-media painter who currently lives and maintains a studio in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. I was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico but grew up in Providence, Rhode Island. I am employed as a night watchman at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum located in Providence, Rhode Island. I was an officer in the Army Reserve from 2000-2007 and have traveled extensively throughout the United States and lived in Egypt for a time. I received my Bachelor’s degree in Art History (2007) and a Bachelors of Fine Art in painting (2011) from Rhode Island College. In addition, I received my Masters of Fine Art from Massachusetts College of Art and Design (2013). I also received a Certificate in Painting Studies (two-year program) from Rhode Island School of Design (2018).

Artist Statement
I create semi-abstract, grotesque faces and bodies. These works are character studies of figures sometimes sprung from my imagination and other times based on people I once knew. The way in which I combine and arrange the figures creates a mysterious and quiet world inviting the onlooker to use their imaginations too fill in the missing pieces or narrative. My paintings are created through the process of actively manipulating the oil paint over a textured surface. Layers are built up by overlapping and using violent strokes thus, creating various densities and textures. The palette is mostly garish/acidic colors, colors of discord. Occasionally, a bright color pops out of muddy ground. One can witness traces of color buried beneath, suggesting the time invested in making the pieces. Like memories, paint layers are built one on top of the other. When I have one color in mind, before I know it another color will be on top of that one and then another; until the right combination is reached in my mind. Then and only then I feel the painting is done.