Rosa Alfaro Carozzi’s Career Changes Led Her To Painting
Rosa Alfaro Carozzi was born in Lima, Peru and has been residing in New York City for 40 years. At a late start painting, the age of 30 is when she learned to hone her skills. Rosa admits that she admires the short-lived Fauvism style (where there was not a focus on representational or realistic values, but vivid colors). Looking at some Fauvism pieces, you can see where she gets her inspiration from, where her pieces showcase vibrant and decorative effects. She developed a new style and interesting enough, her first ever painting has it.
The Peruvian painter, Rosa, is also a figurative painter, who attempts to create a narrative in her paintings that include people of different ethnic backgrounds bonding. Art runs in her blood where her grandfather was an art collector in Lima and her mom was a poet. At the rare age of 5, she learned to recite poetry. She loves all forms of art from dance, music, film, photography, and especially Broadway shows in New York City. Another thing worth knowing is she refuses to sign her paintings with her maiden name, signing them as “Alfaro Carozzi.”
“Ville Maria,” is a private school (in Lima, Peru) where she learned English. In 1980, a bilingual, Rosa attended “Hunter College in New York City (as a foreign student) and in 1984, she received her Bachelor of Science in “Film Production and Television.”
Her background education allowed her to work at “Viacom”in the international distribution of films (to Latin America and Europe). In 1990, Rosa changed her to die for career, attending back to “Hunter College,” to receive her Masters in Elementary Education and a Masters in TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language). At “PS 87,” (an elementary school, in the Upper Westside), she was a Dual Language Teacher for 30 years, where she was delighted to share her art knowledge. She studied art at Columbia University at nights while teaching, then started to integrate art into her second language curriculum. Afterwards, she integrated art into all subject areas.
One of the reasons why Rosa could be so skilled is because from 1994-2017, she attended art classes at the “Art Students League” and became a member. For 30 years, she taught and is now retired, dedicated to her craft.
After her time in New York City, she moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. There, she can co-exist with the sun and beach, all while painting.
Some of her exhibitions are the “Wallach Art Gallery” at Columbia University (1996), Flinn Gallery” at Arts Students League (2000), “Riverbank Gallery” (2005), “Flinn Gallery” (2008-2009), “Metropolitan Museum of Art” at Yale University (2013), and “X Gallery” (2018).
Nothing seems to be slowing down Rosa’s progress because she has upcoming exhibitions in 2021. Her upcoming exhibitions are the “Art UpClose Gallery,” at the “Monaco Yacht Show (Monaco) and “Gallery Andrea” (Scottsdale, Arizona).
Her oil on canvas painting, “The Upper Westside, Manhattan” appears to look like royalty with gold colors and dazzling effects. Maybe Rosa did not use painter’s tape to form straight lines on the canvas, but it appears like she had fun. Looking pass the paperlike buildings in the wealthy part of Manhattan, there are items she selected to add on the rooves. Some items on one particular roof appears to have garden pots, after getting a closer look. Well, on the same roof, what appears to be black sculptures close up, actually appears like people from a distance.
“The Upper Westside, Manhattan” with the caption, ‘oil on canvas, 18 inches x 20 inches.’ ©. 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Here is what I notice when I look at Rosa’s piece, “Central Park.” There are four bicycles visible in the foreground with a water fountain or wishing well in the middle ground. In the background, there are possible organic apples from trees are in front of numerous buildings. There are wooden benches around, making the area appear more welcoming. On the left side, there is a pond. The firmament is a bluish-green color.
It is complicated not to focus on the water fountain, which is unusually shaped like a human at the top, but there appears to be a tight-knit group of apparitions in this piece (reliving nostalgic memories), ranging from a headless female mounted on a bicycle (in a transparent, white, dress), to an animal (looking like a horse), to a minor, and another woman in a dress. “Central Park” is a painting that may cause some people to sleeplessly wonder about metaphysical questions.
My input on this piece without being biased is that the apparitions wanted to enjoy a peaceful area and they are probably prepared for high-energy dancing in the rain, because the grayish clouds are possibly foretelling rainfall. Somehow, Rosa probably effortlessly managed to paint the humid atmosphere surrounding the grassy terrains and the apparitions are having a supercalifragilistic time.
“Central Park” with the caption ‘30 inches x 40 inches oil on canvas.’ © 2021. All Rights Reserved.
As for the piece “Daydreaming With Cherry Blossoms” that appears like Rosa was painting a section of a museum, there are aspects worth noting. A man is sitting on a bench, (which could be slightly mistaken for a tub) enjoying the view of Fauvism. Even the man in the painting is in the style of Fauvism. On the wall, the red outlines for the torso of the female body, is the exact same color as the floor and ceiling. Above the torso are hair, eyebrows, eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
There are decorated vines on the walls with baby pink leaves. On the right side of the wall, if you look closely, there appears to be the illusion of a ghostlike face, but only the leaves help to form the lips.
“Daydreaming With Cherry Blossoms”, Oil on Canvas, 20 inches x 20 inches © 2016. All Rights Reserved.
Here, in “Monaco,” I see a brunette wearing a milk-white, beaded necklace, an immaculate ball gown dress with milk-white, long-sleeve gloves. The female is sitting on what appears to be like a mysterious pyramid while holding a baby pink umbrella with milk-white designs. There appears to be a mountain in the background and the rain has a yellowish green effect (like the natural condensation on a window).
The umbrella is not covering the anonymous woman’s head, so she must be in content. The rain pouring down on her is a calming mechanism, representing bliss. With the woman’s blue dress, the rain could have appeared like Seattle rain with a gloomy effect, but it is raining with the engaging effects of the sunshine.
“Monaco” 20” X 24”, oil on canvas. ©. 2021. All Rights Reserved.
In “The Landlord,” a blond woman appears to be wearing a tailored, black dress (with a laced section above the waste), standing on a black and red, plaid, tiled floor. Her hands are hidden behind her buttocks as if she has a surprise waiting for someone in particular. There are violet and yellow flowers on a stand and opened windows in the background.
Maybe this painting represents one out of countless acts of altruism for a birthday, anniversary, or holiday. As far as I know, the kindhearted woman can be holding a corrugated box of homemade, gluten-free, Hawaiian pizza behind her and it can match the colors of the floor tiles. I just know that her black dress and expressionless face may not be a good combination. In layman’s term’s the woman could have romantically unpromising intentions, but that is how life is sometimes.
The fact that the floor is not forming in a straight motion, but is a motion like the ocean, could represent disorientation. Maybe the disorientation from the floor could represent her being misguided, having a paramour. It is as if she is suppressing the truth. If it is a paramour that the woman has, she do not seem to want to let anyone know. One thing for sure is, I do not see her promise ring, engagement ring, and/or wedding ring, because she is hiding her hands.
“The Landlord”, 18 X 24, oil on canvas © 2021. All Rights Reserved.
“The Metropolitan Museum” actually shows over 3 different dimensions of artistic creativity if you observe it. Starting above the wooden dresser, there is either a gold chandelier in a wall-mounted painting or outside of it, but a white sculpture of what appears like a cat (wearing a hat) is in it. There are violet, yellow, and green, floral designs and the design of a purple bird on the dresser. On the right side, there is a smaller wall-mounted painting of what appears like the blurry background of a mountain with a garden in the foreground.
If you are eyeing slightly below the small painting of the mountain, just the plaster wall alone showcases the pale chartreuse, yellowish color, known as pear. Where the chartreuse, yellowish color is, a grayish color (with a vertical line coming downward, turns to the left). Then, there is the yellow outline of a square overlapping the pale chartreuse, yellowish section of the wall, skipping the grayish section.
“The Metropolitan Museum”, 16” X 20,” oil on canvas © 2021. All Rights Reserved.
“La casa de mi tio” is Rosa’s first ever painting at Columbia University, which was chosen for an exhibition with a graduate level class. Both of the 16” X 20” paintings are hers. Her piece furthest to the left shows, from my perspective, an ominous, androgynous child (wearing a white, marlborough collar with a black, long-sleeved shirt). There are trees and mountains in the background, and nobody else in the picture, but the child, which can give the viewer the feeling of loneliness.
The second piece on the left, shows the bottom portion of woman’s blue dress as she stands barefoot in a puddle of water. There is a walkway leading to a visible house in the background. This painting reminds me of one of those moments where you may accidentally take a picture and discover something you never realized was in your own front yard.
My theory of this piece is the female wants to get her feet wet after the scintillating sun was beaming on her head. The focus is probably on her feet because she traveled like a gypsy or simply ran errands. Her feet left in the puddle makes me wonder if any sticky mud, itchy grass, or unpleasant bugs stuck to the bottom.
“La casa de mi tio”, 16” X 20” © 1996. All Rights Reserved.
To me, “Broadway Play Rehearsal” embodies choreography, entertainment, and romance, simultaneously. Rosa made the piece appear like the clouds are on a cardboard background. The main actors are dancing, possibly ready for a passionate kiss, which can last a lifetime for a temporary, live performance. Sure, the dance crew are not in the perfect positions (relating to symmetry and timing), but on one side, the women have their head tilted to the left and the other, the right. They are progressing, which is a tremendous part of practice.
The struggle of putting on a perfect performance is real. One mistake from a member can ruin the actual performance. Maybe the blue background represents the depression of continuously repeating the same performance, but I am certain it is a moment to cherish if they receive an applause. Maybe the performers will receive a standing ovation in this painting after the rehearsal.
“Broadway Play Rehearsal”, 18” X 36”, oil on canvas © 2021. All Rights Reserved.
If you want to message Rosa Alfaro Carozzi or keep updated with her latest work, here are her social media accounts:
Website: www.alfarocarozzi.com
Facebook: @fortunellafineart.com Instagram
Work Cites:
Carozzi, Rosa Alfaro. “Rosa Alfaro Carozzi.” www.alfarocarozzi.com. 2021.
Carozzi, Rosa Alfaro. Facebook. “Rosa Alfaro Carozzi.” @fortunellafineart.com. 2021.