For theologist Karen Armstrong, a myth was “something that happened once but that also happens all the time.” In Vito Di Bari’s collection Defining Moments the recurring archetypes of mythology, which Armstrong identifies, step startlingly into the spotlight. By clothing contemporary figures in the costumes, postures, and environments of iconic paintings, Di Bari re-awakes the saints, heroes, and gods that rest in the deep folds of cultural memory. Through daring analogies, he often brings the viewer closer to understanding these historic artworks’ original subjects; yet, in the same gesture, he also alerts the viewer to the way these contemporary icons are responsible, like the featured artists themselves, for changing how we see, experience, and think about the world.

[Dominic Weatherby, 2022]