All of the artwork on this page has been created by Red Tweny who is our November Editor's Pick Artist

Please feel free to email Red at: redtweny@gmail.com

Red Tweny was born in 1964 in Rome where he still lives today with his wife and his two sons. As the first of two children, his life was restricted during his upbringing. This might have imprinted a sense of insecurity in him as well as an estrangement from reality, which have often influenced his life and work. Red Tweny’s artistic aptitude was evident at an early age. To foster his abilities, his mother made him religiously attend all the main contemporary art exhibitions that passed through Rome during the mid-70s. By the age of 12 he was already studying painting under the tutelage of an illustrator at the local college.

In 1984, he graduated from the Mary Mount College, an institution with a pedagogic method characterized by a humanistic religion philosophy which gave spiritual nourishment to his creativity. He has actively attended exhibitions all over Rome since then. The tragic passing of his father at the age of 20 affected him deeply and has influenced the style and main subjects of his artwork ever since. Red Tweny’s artistic passion 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 advertising agencies, which also influenced the elements of graphical design combined into his own classical and surreal painting work. Throughout this period, he primarily made use of watercolors but switched to black ink in 2000 which made his work instantly recognizable. 

His art now is characterized by an exaggerated use of black ink and a subject matter that leaves vivid impressions in his audiences. Red Tweny does not make use of subtext but rather overtly throws in the forefront the essence of his subjects that centers around the futility of attempting to find meaning in a tangled existence for everyone to see. His art frequently depicts subjects experiencing extreme feelings which he compares to someone going through surgery without anesthetics. The exclusive use of black and white is intended to heighten a sense of violence, coldness and desolation in the human condition. “I created a style that I believe to be quite new and recognizable, reminiscent of the fears of our century and the uneasiness of our souls. I try to show the shabby daily lives as opposed to the higher needs of the human soul, which are usually disappointing”. The use of black and white in negative space give the illusion of his subjects being frozen in space and time, helping to accentuate the message conveyed. 

You can see more of Red's work HERE