Living in Minneapolis for over two decades he worked as the Assistant Director for MC Fine Arts Gallery which was considered one of the leading galleries in the state. After five years with MC Gallery he opened his own gallery called “Perspectives” which specialized in glass and ceramic sculpture. Perspectives Gallery earned national recognition in several trade magazines and was named “Best of the Twin Cities” for art galleries in its first year. The Gallery was invited to participate in a visiting Gallery Exhibit at the Tokyo Exhibition center in 1995. Currently Charlie Ciali’s work may be found in Modern Masters Gallery Palm Desert, and Art Space, Vancouver Canada.

In 2002 he moved to Palm Springs with his partner and began doing commissioned abstract portrait work. Considering himself a mixed media artist, he has explored the possibilities of different mediums and how they work with each other. Today in addition to his large scale painting work he is also working in monotype prints. Charlie Ciali has served as a City Commissioner on the Parks and Recreation Commission and he is currently serving on the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission. In addition he is a member of the Desert Museum Artists Council and has been an invited artist in residence at the Desert Museum teaching Mono Printing and Mixed Media.

The prints exhibited on this web site are one of a kind. The process is Monotype-Chine Colle'. Monotype Prints are prints pulled from a painting; in this case with oil based ink which has been painted on a plexi-glass plate, only one impression is made. Chine Colle' is a method of adhering thin pieces of paper to the larger printing paper at the same time that the inked image is printed or transferred from the plate. Images are printed on Archers 88 archival paper. The difficulty in this work is that the artists is working in reverse of the final print in addition to working without the chine colle' image in place while the plate is being inked or painted. This method of working requires a great amount of control and vision.

This work explores the innocence of a time perhaps lost. The models are taken from old “Physique” magazines from the 1950’s and 60’s and blended with recognizable images of that era. The graphic details may or may not have specific meaning to the piece other then as a design element. In this body of work the artist explores the idea that a letter or number may have the same meaning to the viewer as a toaster or a boat. The multi layers seen within the monotype allows the viewer to peer deeper into their own consciences finding hidden images and references that bring questions and answers at the same time. The models in the work explore and challenge our understanding of sensuality.

The influence of artists such as: James Rosenquist, Richard Diebenkorn, Mark Rothko and Robert Rauschenberg are easily recognizable. In addition the photographic influence of George Platt Lynes, Bob Mizer, Lon of New York and Bruce of Los Angeles as well as contemporary photographers such as Duane Michals, Tom Bianchi and Craig Cowan are inspiration to the work.