"Rave of The Medusa" 24'' x 24'' Spray paint and Acrylic on Heavy Duty Canvas

Artist Statement

I am a visual artist with a focus in painting. I see music and literature as a visionary experience trapped in a moment of time. I am inspired by how music creates a community. Occasionally, I am haunted by hearing the white noise from my turntable. I drown in the sound scratching, crackling, and skipping from a needle stuck in an annular groove. This triggers the memories of my family and their deep affinity for American roots music. Inherited mostly from my Italian grandfather is a love of and inspiration from genres such as jazz and country blues. My love of music later expanded to all genres, exploring new variations from hard and metal core bands. I want to explore how these effects manifest themselves artistically through painting by documenting my experiences at a live show. My goal is to create paintings that make viewers feel as if they are experiencing the live show, if not again- to capture the feeling of the music and energy of the crowd! During this time of a national pandemic, however, live music has been cancelled everywhere due to self-quarantine measures, throwing the future of music performance into uncertainty at one point. Yet despite these challenges, I believe that the essence of art lies not in materials or mediums, but in people – their stories, experiences and inspirations. Thus, whatever challenges life may throw at us, I remain inspired that with each passing day human creativity will continue to rise above it all and breathe new life into our world's creative traditions and engagement between artists and their communities.