Luke Diiorio's practice occupies a space between painting and sculpture, interrogating notions of materiality and visibility. His work draws upon the language of minimalism and abstraction, often employing ideas of repetition, seriality and the monochrome. Through these Diiorio interrogates our perception of light and colour as we move through our environment, built and natural. Writer Alex Bacon in a text for The Brooklyn Rail asserts that Diiorio is among the few contemporary artists actively pushing forward the concerns of historical minimalism, particularly through the way his work addresses ‘the real world effects and experience of light and colour.’
Diiorio’s signature technique involves methodically folding sections of canvas to create a succession of identical bands. Each band is gessoed so as to tint the natural off-white colour of the raw canvas and is then painted in a monochrome colour - sometimes white, sometimes a striking red, yellow or purple. In Diiorio’s earlier works, the bands take on the appearance of fabric, evoking pleats and folds. Later works seem to reference architectural structures, with the bands reminiscent of bricks and planks. Often Diiorio’s pieces are displayed en masse, so that their coloured bands build up a tempo of visual movement from one to the next.
Discussing the process behind his work, Diiorio explains ‘I am in interested in limitations that define form and material, not in attempt to extend their potential, but rather to extend an awareness and curiosity towards such limits. Canvas, linen and wood are merely finite materials, but the ability to manipulate the perception of these things far surpasses their physical qualities. The visible process is a key component within this work. Intuition and circumstance are elements of perception as well as production. The viewer determines image and meaning from what is given and what is assumed.’