Eurocentric art history traces the lineage of modern painting to the Renaissance and the moment that artists began making paintings on portable panels and canvases. But what we recognize as contemporary painting follows a less clear and linear history and can be traced to a range of practices including the so-called decorative arts. During my time in Rome, I will look at a variety of architectural/decorative painting traditions including ancient Roman fresco and faux marble painting, as well as practices I see parallel to painting, such as mosaic, terrazzo, stucco lustro, and book-matched marble. I view these traditions, which were often influenced by Islamic art and architecture, to be an essential part of the history and practice of painting as we know it today. I will study the ways in which these conventions occupy and alter interior spaces, which will inform how my own work does the same.

The portrait of Kamrooz Aram was taken by James Welling.