Dario Campanile

        Dario Campanile knew that he wanted to be a painter from the very beginning.  At the age of six, he was encouraged with the gift of a small set of watercolors from an uncle, himself a painter. He possessed a natural talent. After graduating with honors from an industrial design course, Dario spent time concentrating on painting in the classical style, mostly still lifes.  In 1967 he entered his first art competition in Norma, Italy.  Dario was the youngest participant to receive awards, and was praised by the judges for his excellent work.
        At the age of eighteen, Dario had the good fortune to meet Giorgio de Chirico, the Italian master of metaphysical art.  Dario showed him some paintings and asked if he should attend art school.  De Chirico counseled the young painter to simply experiment and continue discovering his own techniques.  Inspired by this encounter, Dario found that his own hard work and discipline proved to be his best teachers.  He continued to work full time on his art, and by the time he was twenty, he was successfully exhibiting his paintings in the Galleria Esedera in Rome, and attracting the attention of international collectors.
       After journeys to Spain and London, Dario traveled to California, both to see the sights and to get a feel for the art world in the U.S.  Accustomed to carrying a portfolio of his work with him, it seemed only natural to show photos of his paintings to galleries in Los Angeles as he strolled the streets.  Not only was his work well-received, upon seeing it, the owner of the Acosta Gallery in Beverly Hills offered Dario a one-man show the following April.  This show was extremely successful for the artist, as it introduced him to collectors from the movie and music industries, as well as bringing many offers to paint book and album covers.  After moving to Los Angeles in 1973, Dario experienced great commercial success, and explored new directions in his art.  He worked with clay sculpture, cast paper sculpting and cast paper bas relief.  In 1986 after working in Los Angeles for over a decade, Dario was chosen from hundreds of artists to create the 75th Anniversary Logo for Paramount Studios.  His beautiful design of the famous mountain symbol is seen on every Paramount publication today.
        Campanile has had numerous one man shows.  In 2006, he was given the rare honor of painting the Dalai Lama’s likeness for the Missing Peace Found touring exhibition.  Dario is recognized as one of the foremost contemporary realist painters.  In a Campanile still life, the viewer is tempted to reach in and take a piece of fruit or grab a glass of wine, marveling at the level of meticulous precision required to create an image that so mischievously fools the eye.