Artist's Statement

Denise Landi is a North Carolina native who combines her love for life with a desire to recreate mood in both her figurative and still life work. Educated in both the history and practice of art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she continued her studies at the Villa Schifanoia in Florence, Italy, where she received a M.F.A. in painting.

Her fascination with the play of light on both figure and object began in these years in Italy and continues through the present. A career as a tabletop designer ignited her interest in still life and often her mystical figures are seen combined with arrangements of food, fruit, and flowers. Her work has been featured on wine labels, promotional posters and university brochures.

She has exhibited throughout the Southeast and has served as an Artist in the schools through the Greenhill Center for North Carolina Art. Now included in many private collections, her work ranges from simple black and white monoprints to commissioned portraiture in her own individualistic style.

Her busy life is often reflected in the energy seen in her compositions, especially those of children. Her life is a primary source of inspiration as well as travels to Italy and different coastal areas.