Tony Toscani
“Isolation”
New York, 124 Forsyth Street
Like a whirlwind, the pandemic has upheaved us and locked us into our homes. Forced in like strangers in our own familiarity. What was once a comfort zone sheltering us from fear became brick and mortar, a prison we had to bear. Our home, a new kind of bizarre frontier brought on by an invisible enemy. A tragic story. However, not a new one.
Tony Toscani, A Look At My Reflection, 2021, Oil on linen, 14 x 11 inches
How often have we felt like prisoners in our own body? Whether it is because we look and act differently, or because we feel like we are not as good as someone else. Somehow, our melancholy manipulates us into thinking we are divided. But in fact, it is this very emotion that unites us. We are all uniquely bound through our incessant need to change who we are.
Just as the title specifies, each of the figures in my works are quarantined from one another. Abandoned in what seems to be a recognizable but still somewhat unfamiliar place. Wandering and waiting for some kind of familiarity. A future that is unknown to both the subject and the viewer. And together they wait. United in isolation. - Tony Toscani
