“My Journey through Science and Art - Creativity, Insight and Expression” by Eduardo Lapetina
“FOUND DEEP DOWN IN OUR OCEANS,” 30 x 48” (2022)
Recently the above painting was selected for the NC Artists Exhibition of the Raleigh Fine Arts Society. For the exhibition publication I was required to write a short bio of no more than 200 words. I felt that this background material provided a brief context for the viewers to understand my history and how I became a painter. I am including what was published. But I also want to further elaborate on some aspects of my life- my career as a scientist and the health issues with which I have struggled- as they both inform who I am as an artist.
My Bio
I was born in Argentina in 1940 to parents of Italian descent. My early years were characterized by witnessing the hard work of my family to provide for their children. My interest in science led me to study at the University of Buenos Aires and to work in the School of Medicine. In 1975 I left Argentina and moved to the USA to escape the Argentine political situation, and to concentrate on my career and raise my family.
International travel associated with my work as a scientist allowed me opportunities to view and collect art from around the world. When I was forced from my work as a scientist by worsening symptoms of MS, I seized the opportunity to move from art collector to art creator. Over the years of appreciating art, I had refined a sense of what I most appreciated and reacted to in the art which I loved. Over the next 25 years I honed my ability to express my own passions in my abstract acrylic paintings. This is the journey that has enabled me to find meaning and purpose in creating beauty and expressing what is in my soul in my painting.
Science
From 1965 until 1975 I was doing my scientific work in neuroscience at the School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires. During this time, I also was a postdoctoral fellow for 3 years in England. My work on the mechanism of signal transduction of neurotransmitters in cell activation was published in several scientific journals. One of those articles that was accepted in Nature brought me invitations to work in the USA.
WORKING AT THE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE IN BUENOS AIRES, 1965
When I started my career as a scientist in the US I mainly worked on trying to understand the molecular basis of cardiovascular disease, with an emphasis on thrombosis and atherosclerosis. During those thirty five years, over 50 postdoctoral fellows from around the world came to work in my labs and we published 100’s of scientific journal articles and made strides in the field that led to international renown.
SOME OF THE AWARDS PRESENTED TO ME FOR MY SCIENTIFIC WORK
The experiments that we conducted in the lab did not always produce the expected results. In the face of this frustration, the challenge was to delve into understanding what the data was trying to tell us and use that understanding to inform the next steps we needed to take. I am telling you this because I think I approach my abstract paintings in a similar manner. Rather than beginning with a preconceived notion, I follow the colors and shapes that emerge as the painting develops. Just as in my scientific work, I spend countless hours studying and thinking about what is before me and trying to decipher the secrets it’s trying to reveal. In both art and science, I have tended to design a technique and then let it unfold and have learned how to listen to what the process is telling me about the direction I need to take.
Abstract Paintings
My technique as an abstract artist is to build many layers of paint. I start with an underpainting applied with a wide palette knife. As I add more layers, I use a scraper to create texture, make marks and draw into the wet paint. I largely obscure the base layers, picking only specific areas to show through. I continue a process of developing the painting by ascertaining which parts need to be emphasized and which are to be obscured. During the process, I spend more time thinking about the direction the painting needs to go, than I do actually applying paint. As I am thinking, I am focusing on composition, movement, forms, color and texture. I greatly value being bold in my painting. I know when the painting is finished, when I should stop applying more paint. But for me the process continues until I am satisfied that the title that I have given each work creates a poetic exchange with the painting. I study each painting for hours to determine its name. I feel that the titles help me tie my painting to points in my life and provide a message that I leave for the viewer and or my children and grandchildren.
“BETWEEN THE ETERNAL AND THE TRANSITORY,” 30x40” (2022)
“LETS ALL CLIMB TOGETHER HAND IN HAND,” 48x30" (2022)
Life, Health, and Painting
The last and most difficult subject that I want to touch on is how painting has been essential to my ability to cope with the illnesses that have impacted me. I have had health problems throughout my life that have caused me pain and restricted what I could do, but also taught me how to accept, face and overcome challenges. This part of my story began when I was 12 years old, when I was hospitalized for five months and subsequently required medical treatment and intermittent hospitalization over the next eight years. As an adult I have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) 40 years ago and more recently (10 tears ago) I began to suffer from Myasthenia Gravis (MG). Advancing age has further exacerbated some of the debilitating symptoms of these illnesses. As this has occurred, painting has provided me a refuge and a way to cope.
I am very grateful that, in spite of the challenges and limitations these health problems impose, my conditions have been sufficiently stabilized that I can lead a meaningful and fulfilling life. Painting is integral to my life and a large part of what makes my life satisfying. It has helped me to cope with the increasing infirmity I have faced in recent years. When I go into the studio to paint, I escape the pain, disability and impediments caused by my chronic diseases and instead lose myself in the passion of painting. When I enter into the world of my canvas, I exist in a place filled with color, boldness, creativity, freedom and beauty; there are no limitations, just a life of no regret.
IN MY STUDIO IN FRONT OF A WHITE CANVAS