A long time favorite of the Creep Machine, Marco Mazzoni (previously featured) will open his first solo exhibition entitled “Immune” at Thinkspace Gallery this November 8th, 2014. A graduate of the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, Marco has solidified himself as a master of dry media (colored pencils) in the past few years. He has an amazing style, and blends floral, animal, and figurative elements in the elegant drawings that grace paper and his moleskine sketchbooks. This new show will feature 20 new works, some of his most dynamic and intense work yet. A quick look at “Phospene” (top) shows the electric energy Marco is able to pull from the medium he uses.
Tag: marco mazzoni
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Preview: Suggestivism NYC @ Bold Hype Gallery
Opening this week, May 10th, is a group show curated by Nathan Spoor entitled Suggestivism NYC. This new show will feature over 40 of the most exciting, intriguing, and talented artists in the contemporary art scene such as: Chris Mars, Skinner, Chet Zar, Dan May, Nathan Ota, Jeff McMillan, Rod Luff, Sas Christian, Colin Christian, Joe Vaux, Bob Schneider, Mia, Naoto Hattori, Bob Dob, Tom Bagshaw, Jason Maloney, David Molesky, Darren LeGallo, Michael Page, Kevin Peterson, Thomas Doyle, Sandow Birk, Heidi Taillefer, Yevgeniya Mikhailik, Brendan Monroe, Annie Owens, Eric Althin, Jason Limon, Joey Remmers, Chandler Wood, Martin Wittfooth, Eric Richardson, Francesco LoCastro, Nathan Spoor, Kathie Olivas, Brandt Peters, Scott Scheidly, NC Winters, Christian Van Minnen, Winnie Truong, Julian Callos, Heiko Müller, and Marco Mazzoni.
According to Spoor, Suggestivism “does not center around claiming a title for giving any movement a name, but for introducing a common creative thread amongst several disparate and unique voices within the modern art world.” Richard Chang once stated that Suggestivism has its roots in 19th century artist such as James McNeill Whistler, Georges Seurat and Arthur B. Davies. The show will run until June 30th, so if your in the area, make sure to stop by.
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Featured Artist for March, Jeff Ramirez
First of all I would like to thank last months featured artist Marco Mazzoni; if you haven’t seen the feature yet make sure to check it out (here). This months featured artist, or at least the end of February and rest of March, is photo-realist painter Jeff Ramirez. We sent over 5 questions that Jeff was kind of answer, and are featuring 24 paintings.
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Featured artist for January, Marco Mazzoni
A new has started and a new round of featured artists has begun, and to kick of the new year we have Marco Mazzoni as the featured artist for January. Marco creates these beautiful colored pencil portraits, and we even have a short interview with him. I would also like the think last months featured artist Edward Cao who can now be found in the archive. Head on over and check out the work of Marco Mazzoni.
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Marco Mazzoni
I first saw the work of Marco Mazzoni, currently based in Milan, Italy, last year and shortly after he made the cover of Hi Fructose magazine. It’s not often that you see an artist use a medium like colored pencils, and produce something so painterly and delicate at the same time. The works are filled with color and have a sculptural element to the figures that Marco achieves with the chiaroscuro technique, rendering with darks and lights. I am very happy to have Marco kick of the site as the featured artist for 2012, the 5th year the site has been going. After the images and short interview, make sure to head over to Marco’s site for more work and updates.
(Interview has been edited slightly for translation)Creep: You have drawing since you were younger, did you attend an art college and if so what was your experience like?
Marco: I attended Brera Art Academy in Milan, but in 4 years of school a lot of the professors tried to get me to abandon drawing to be a painter.. so I really think my “school” was all the time I spent using pencils.
Creep: Who are some of the artists, current and past, that have influenced your work?
Marco: I love some current artists like Nicola Verlato and Nicola Samorì¬ because they are italian in their works, and I think that the roots is the basis to be international, I really love Martin Wittfooth, Turf One and Josh Keyes, but the artists that influenced my work the most are Ribera and Goya. Their chiaroscuro technique is the fundamental part of my drawings.
Creep: You primarily use colored pencils. What is it about this medium that you like?
Marco:MIt’s a medium for children, and I am interested in bringing a medium considered easy to be extreme. The pencils are fantastic for glazing and also doesn’t have the drying time that oil has.
Creep: When did you start creating your current style of work, figures with plant life, and what was the inspiration for this?
Marco: I started this kind of work after reading “Malleus Maleficarum” in 2009. I try to speak about the women and their knowledge with medicinal plants. Here in Italy we lost this knowledge because the church eliminated those who could use alternative medicine.
Creep: In each of your work there is a variety of plant and insect life. Can you tell us a bit about your favorite plants and insects, and what they mean to you?
Marco: In my work the plants are all medical or hallucinogenic plants, I did a lot of research to select the floral subjects and the insects. The birds are most of the time butterfly and hummingbirds because they are the animals that move pollen, so it’s a kind of circle that creates and cares for life.
