Artist Statement
In my Seattle Studio, my images room surrounds me with hundreds of books and cuttings from pages of history books from various cultures, erotica from the Kama Sutra, original letters and journals, encyclopedias, old children’s books, and vintage wall paper. I am intrigued with the past and the associations that can be made with aged surfaces and vintage ephemera. As written by Mathew Kangas in Art ltd, "...he [LoCicero] affirms for the first time that his engine of nostalgia can also point to a present, continuing moment of ecological danger for vulnerable creatures – and the rest of us."
My work makes references to the idea of traveling and the act of moving not only from one place to another but also from one time period to another. MiChelle Jones in the Nashville Arts Magazine writes "Pulling away from the past (1950’s and earlier) and infusing sometimes related or wickedly surprising paper elements is this veteran artists’ way of composing clever, complex pictures. He shies away from the word ‘nostalgia’ but nevertheless seeks to imbue his paintings with the historical associations of the papers, books and other ephemera he incorporates into his compositions, each painting hinting at a compelling back story waiting to be discovered."
My paintings refer to the idea of traveling as a metaphor for multiple kinds of passage – literally, symbolically and culturally. I am fascinated by the idea of physically moving from one place to another as well as the concept of moving through memories and associations from one time period to another.
In my paintings, the use of overlap and collage is directly related to the images I depict. I use the collage material to guide me to the iconography that becomes the focus of the painting. The contrasts that are set up between the collaged surfaces and the painted image are as interesting to me as the play between the actual shallow space and the implied deep space. I am always striving for a close material and conceptual relationship between the painted and collaged surfaces of my pieces.
My work is in numerous galleries across the country as well as in important private and public collections internationally including The Dayton Art Museum, The San Francisco Legion of Honor, Swedish Medical Center, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Trinity University, Oregon Health Sciences University, The University of Washington Medical Center, The San Francisco International Airport, The California LEF Foundation, and Croner International, Paris France as well as the Dicke Family Collection in Ohio and the Sarah Berger Family Collection in Delmar, CA. In addition, I have done numerous commissions for multinational companies. My work has been reviewed in The San Francisco Chronicle, The Seattle Times, The Washington Post, Art News, Art Week, Nashville Arts Magazine and Arts ltd. I have been awarded a Maryland State Arts Award and a San Francisco Artist Relocation grant. I received BFA from The Ohio State University and my MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. I am currently adjunct faculty at Cornish College of the Arts.
Patrick LoCicero
For more information, inquiries or requests cerodesign@comcast.net