After decades of experience in the fine arts, Pietro’s Adamo’s skills and portfolio are vast. Adamo was born in Toronto in 1955 and after completing high school he enrolled in a joint programme between the Univeristy of Toronto and Sheridan College, covering Art History and Fine Art respectively. Following graduation, he took a position teaching art at Chaminade College School in Toronto and remained there for several years. By the time he left, he had created a strong visual arts programme that inspired many of his pupils to continue in art and design.
During his teaching years, Adamo continued to pursue his own artistic endeavours. He created a great body of work, including private and public commissions, and became so well known that after a number of years he turned painting into his sole career. Much of Adamo’s work has an Impressionistic quality that lends itself well to the landscapes he loves to paint.
As a lover of travel, Adamo finds inspiration in the places he visits, both old and new, near and far. He feels an especially deep connection to Italy, a place that his ancestors called home. Italy’s rich history, spectacular architecture, variety of museums, and breathtaking landscapes each hold a place in Adamo’s heart. Adamo has recently begun to discover the beauty that accompanies each season in and around Toronto as well. Originally, he felt that our landscape was void of colour during many seasons, but he says, if you look really closely, there are a myriad of colours and fine details to be discovered. He then takes these inspirations back to his studio where they are expressed on the canvas with a uniquely graceful complexity.
It is complexity that is essential to Adamo’s work. Though his pieces are beautiful and captivating, he believes that what makes them so is the evidence of struggle underneath. Adamo says that even after decades of dedicating himself to his art, he is still nervous each time he approaches a new canvas. This nervousness, butterflies as he described them, are necessary to propel his creativity and imagination. Once he begins, he becomes fully immersed and it is then that a rich exchange of creative thoughts can begin to take place and unfold in a multitude of colours and brush strokes across the canvas. It is this underlying exchange that draws viewers in and holds not just their gaze, but their thoughts and emotions, connecting them to the artwork.
Many have felt the emotional pull of Adamo’s work and because of this he is exhibited and collected across North America. He has exhibited at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Art Miami, and Art Frankfurt, among others. His work is part of the collections of American Express, Merrill Lynch (Chicago), the Harvard Club (Boston), the Fairmont Hotel (Montreal), and many more.