FEATURED ARTIST 2010

The Artist In His Studio

TONY SAVOIE is a native Floridian and current resident of Orlando. Tony worked in many aspects of commercial art and production. His work experience comprised screen printing, offset printing and other advertising endeavors. Since 2004 he has focused solely on his own work, which has made its way into private, corporate and museum collections. Additionally, Tony's work has been shown throughout the Southeast in solo and group shows. He has been awarded numerous Best of Show and First place awards in juried art festivals.

The work created for the 2010 Fall Festival is part of the Command Series. About this series Tony says,

"The Command Series addresses one of the most accessible lovable and exploited subjects on earth: dogs. The principal images are familiar and cliched. Many of the pieces incorporate common and accessible primary forms. Canine imagery is consistently used in marketing a vast array of objects and ideas (including fine art) because it makes us feel good about ourselves. 'We must be good: We love our dogs; they love us...'

This series celebrates those attributes that can be admirable in both dogs and people: loyalty, devotion, obedience, enthusiasm, optimism, trust. But where such disciplines are universally admired in dogs, they can become far less appealing in humans when submission to them results in subjugation of self, and/or persecution of others.

In addressing the gap between our boundless potential for decency and an often brutal reality my hope is to encourage humane critical thinking."

Tony will participate in Festival events and programs prior to the festival weekend. We warmly welcome Tony Savoie as the Featured Artist for the 18th annual DeLand Fall Festival of The Arts.