"Green Thumb" Solo Exhibition by Stephen D'Onofrio

Location: Galleri Urbane 2277 MONITOR ST. Dallas, TX 75207

Galleri Urbane is pleased to announce Green Thumb, a solo exhibition of work by Stephen D’Onofrio. This is the Philadelphia-based artist’s fifth solo show with the gallery. Green Thumb is a visual exploration, where the boundaries between nature, art, and everyday design blur into a vibrant tapestry of color and form. This new body of work delves into the world of flowering vines and fruit bowls adorned with blooms, drawing inspiration from the rich tradition of European still life masters and the precision of scientific illustration. 

D'Onofrio's paintings are exquisitely evocative and delectably alive. A fruit bowl contains grapefruits and pomelos, whole and broken open to reveal juicy segments, while bees buzz languorously, rapturously around them and blooming lilies complete the picture. As a slice of life, it is tantalizing, sensory, electric: one can hear the amorous whir, smell floral ambrosia, and taste pungency. Elsewhere, morning glories or nasturtiums interlace their leafy vines, spreading them into a matrix that flirts, compositionally, with all-over pattern while remaining aware of the canvas’s edge.

In Green Thumb, the artist seeks to unravel the delicate dance between botanical abundance and the meticulous order of nature. The winks and nods to genre-painting tropes are not without precedent. His inspirations in the art-historical canon: 17th-century Italian Giovanna Garzoni, painter of cherries and lemons in luscious still lives; 16th-century German apothecary Basilius Besler, botanical illustrator of myriad species; 19th-century English textile designer William Morris, master of dizzying pure pattern. D’Onofrio’s own still lives are not allegorical, and yet they speak of the memento mori tradition. “I’m borrowing the standard composition of a shallow still life that I think feels familiar to most people” against a dark background, D’Onofrio says. “They have this lasting power.” 

But equally ardent is D’Onofrio’s interest in patterns—their variations and their limits. “I like building something that feels like a pattern, but when you spend more time with it, you get rewarded by finding that it isn’t, or the pattern falls apart,” D’Onofrio says. The artist honors the historical dialogue between art and the natural world. Yet, his approach is infused with a modern sensibility that feels both intimate and accessible. The visual language draws heavily from mass-produced print design—its clean lines, bold contrasts, and repetitive patterns—creating a bridge between the grandiosity of historical art and the ubiquity of everyday imagery.

D’Onofrio’s technical aptitude—the slow layering and crisp edges—belies the critical message. Where does image-making end and pattern begin? Where does pattern end and kitsch begin? Where does idiosyncrasy end and genre begin? Where does genre end and commercialism begin? A cascading set of questions. Ultimately, Green Thumb is a comment on making, on consuming, on ornamenting—cheeky, wry, and tongue-in-cheek. 

Through the lens of Green Thumb, let us cultivate an appreciation for the intricate interplay of - -nature, art history, and design, finding new ways to connect with the images and visual language that are readily around us today.