Steven Mairella is the son of a sign painter, and the grandson of Italian immigrants from the Calabria, Basilicata, and Campania regions of Italy. He grew up in Nutley, New Jersey, and currently resides in Chatham, Massachusetts.
Steve is a full-time artist, after practicing law for many years. He is a graduate of Brown University (’79) and Georgetown University Law Center (’83). In 2016 he retired from the practice of law, and in 2017 became a full-time painter, devoting time and energy to his interests in art, genealogy, and cultural heritage. Those interests have merged in his body of work depicting Italian and Italian-American themes, of which Rosetta’s Tomatoes is a part.
Steve works primarily in acrylics on canvas, and his works include landscapes, seascapes, and still lifes, as well as portraits and pet portraits. He generally paints in a representational style, though recently he has begun working abstractly as well. He uses brilliant colors and dramatic lighting or contrasts to create visual interest and a sense of depth. Visit his website: https://www.stevemartworks.com
A number of Steve’s paintings were featured in a Studio Montclair(NJ) exhibition in the summer of 2019, And Then … There was Paint. In October 2019, he curated and participated in an exhibition in honor of Italian Heritage Month at the Caldwell, NJ Public Library, The Golden Door. In late 2019 Steve was a Featured Artist on the highly regarded online art promotional site, Artsy Shark; and, most recently, in March 2021, one of Steve’s paintings was awarded “Acrylic — First Place” in the Chatham, MA Creative Arts Center’s Members’ Show.
Steve has been married for 41years to Kathleen (nee Kerestes) Mairella, PT, DPT, MA, Director of Clinical Education and Assistant Professor in the Physical Therapy Doctorate Program at the Rutgers School of Health Professions. They have three grown children and a daughter-in-law: Steven Matthew and his wife, Rachel (nee Nitsche); David Charles; and Lauren Rose.