(a statement of intent on painting portraits on found objects)
There is a process of collecting artifacts, an archaeological connection to the recent past, which occurs in the searching eye. Decorative and functional objects declared useless or undesirable are resurrected from their possible doom to become a crucial element in a work of art. With forethought to the making of a painting, these artifacts are selected for their material function as a picture plane and their ability to suggest narrative. This is the intersection of object and illusion.
As one who describes the world around him, an artist, as well as anyone else, is intrigued by the complexity of his own physiognomy. The portrait is a study of the face; an illusion depicting our most primitive and most effective instrument of communication. The face houses the sensory organs which, when viewed externally, express ideas so complex and intuitive that words fall short of describing them. The manner in which a person uses his or her facial features on a daily basis becomes a representation of that individual's mind or persona, as perceived by the senses of another. A portrait records the process of collecting the visual information evident in one's face through formal academic methods and unconscious decision-making.
Carrying with it the energy of its history, the artifact supports the painted illusion of a face, deepening the narrative. The likeness of the subject portrayed is accentuated by the sitter's own artistic involvement in the piece; through choosing the artifact, their bodily position, and often even colors used in the painting. These decisions intensify the subconscious portrayal of the subject with a direct connection to their way of thinking. The objective view of the painter combined with the input of the subject being painted is what determines the directness of this likeness.
The final result communicates the emotional capacity of the human face with the use of paint, along with ideas about collecting artifacts and information. Narratives are suggested by the artifacts in regard to their origin, history, and point of contact with the artist. The portraits are testimonies to certain individuals and their origin, history, and point of contact with the artist. At the intersection of object and illusion, where the 2nd dimension meets the 3rd, a painting rests on its support while a physical fragment of history houses the illusion of a face.
Although I paint mostly portraits, there are many times I don't. Its true that a painting of a face - as many of the pieces in this section are - is a portrait, but I define a portrait as a painting of someone in particular. If it is an anonymous or made-up image I categorize it as a painting. So by that definition, anything I paint that is not a portrait gets tossed into this bin. I have been painting since before I could speak. Prior to becoming primarily interested in portraiture, I had been working within the realms of expressionism and surrealism. I painted anything that I saw in my environment or in my mind. Over time I have made many non-portrait paintings in many different styles. Most of them are here.
I do live 10-minute watercolor paintings at all kinds of events. Here are some of the hundreds of 10-minute watercolors I have painted at events such as The 40 hour Portrait Painting Marathon I did in the Summer of 2007. There are also portraits I've painted of friends, strangers in the park or bandmates on tour in Europe. These quick-draw watercolors have become one of my favorite things to do.
I love working in scrap metal - welding and cutting with a torch objects that I find on the street. Lots of these are lamps wired with light. I custom make them to order so let me know if you have any fun ideas. I have always loved to make art in as many mediums as possible. Its all the same energy being engaged whether its painting, singing, sculpting, driving or dishwashing. Everyone should try to do as many interesting things with their time as possible.
Most of the drawings in this section are sketchbook pages from sketches drawn around New York. Others are less grounded in reality and work purely as explorations into ideas of line, value and symbolism. Others still are pieces commissioned for publication in books, magazines and newspapers. I always have at least one sketch book that I am working in. I write down my thoughts and feelings, ideas and to-do lists but most importantly I draw and its the one original art form that I have loved since I was a kid. Drawing is the essence of painting and the lines between the two are nicely blurred. "Well there's an awful lot of lines in that painting so i think it's more of a drawing even though the artist used paint to draw the lines." See what I'm saying? Labels are just labels but art is never just art.
The Album Cover Project - A series of paintings in which an album cover serves as a canvas for a portrait. The classic records we love peek out from behind the faces of the people who made them. These look really nice in ornate gold frames. It takes this beat-up bit of obsolete nostalgia and elevates it to a new level - to the realm of art - where everything is sacred. I frame them without glass to bring out the textural contrast between the comfy worn patina of the album cover and the eye-candy shine of the hi-gloss enamel paint.
The Angel Sculpture - a symbol of an incredible life
As some of you know, 2003 was a challenging year for me. The tragic loss of my father, John T. Zito Jr., has affected my life in many ways.
I have the great honor and duty of completing a sculpture commission which he left unfinished. With deep understanding and compassion for my father's illness, the Sarkisian family of Connecticut hired him to sculpt a full-figure angel from clay to be cast in bronze and stand 5 feet tall upon a 6 foot granite base. One of the most involved artworks of his incredible career, the Angel was begun last year with a strong, moveable armature whose construction I observed and contributed to. A pose was decided upon that he felt was elegant and visually sound - the Angel touching down in flight. Her wings cupped the air and her arm was extended in balance. The drapes and hair were meant to billow dramatically in the wind with a long trumpet clutched in her right hand. Fortunately for me, he was able to sculpt the arms, legs and front drapes to a state of near completion. All of the rest was roughed in to be refined later. As the dust settled following his tragic passing, I began to understand the reality of this project's necessary completion. I eventually dug in and found myself constantly working and reworking the face, considering it primary to the overall emotional expression represented by the graceful figure. The process was immediately intense and engaging as my hands moved over and along side his recent work. The studio, steeped in his artistic energy, accentuates the sense that he is guiding my hands - I am ever his student. Learning to sculpt in the classical Greek ideal is not something I expected to undertake, and now, with his aid, I am teaching myself as I go. The Sarkisian family has been very patient with me and has indicated that the piece is developing to their satisfaction, although I'm sure they had expected it to be in place by now. These photographs were taken over the course of the past few months in which I have begun to complete this piece. I plan to finish the rendering phase of this project by late fall, if all goes well.
My father was and always will be my greatest teacher and mentor in the fine arts. His cheerful words continue to resonate with me as deeply insightful and eloquent truths. His understanding of art history and the creative process remains a powerful source of inspiration for me. It is a goal of mine to eventually make the massive body of work that he left behind available for viewing by the general public.
My father painted every night of his life and as children, my siblings and I would gather around as he worked on his latest masterpiece, always at the easel in the kitchen of our home. Deep in the woods of East Granby, Connecticut, is his ultimate legacy, a symbol of his dedication to his family and his art, which he designed and constructed during the 70s and 80s. The framework of the house is built from notched and pegged oak timbers which were acquired from a deconstructed tobacco barn in Tennessee. The exterior is hand-layed fieldstone, turned up by a horse-drawn plow from the field in which the house now stands. The roof is slate, the windows - leaded glass, the floors are wide-plank pine and the two fireplaces are big enough to step inside of. We grew up heating our home with wood, cut from the property, which we chopped and burnt in the woodstove in the kitchen. We raised goats for milk, to keep the grass down and to have as pets. A family of vegetarians, we tended a huge garden that we ate from every night.
The paintings draw influence from the great masters - especially the earthy tones of Titian. As his eyesight failed in the second half of his life he defiantly persisted with his painting. Beij, Williams & Zito, the family memorial design business, worked as an outlet for his sculptural talents, and he was known extensively as a brilliant authority on classical proportions and ideals in stonework. He studied sculpture at The Hartford Art School in the 60s where he met my mother, Rosemary Motto, also an exceptional painter. John Zito was a loving father, dedicated to his family and blessed with a depth of knowledge and insight that will be sorely missed by all who knew him. We all continue on, wiser and more sensitive to the world around us because of the passion for art and nature that he stirred up inside us. I consider myself lucky to have been raised in such a way, by such incredible parents, and this unfamiliar distance from my dearest friend and teacher will take some getting used to.
People love their pets and their cars more than they love themselves. And thats where I come in. I don't do too many car portraits but folks have asked me to paint their pets many times. Good thing I love to paint and I'm always willing to find a fun approach to an image - because here is where that can be challenging. But what's life without challenges? Closest thing I can think of is sleep.
These photographs show my studios over the years, mainly on Ludlow Street but also including The Fun Factory and, who knows - maybe I'll get brave and start digging through that dusty box of photos under my bed.
Well, as much as I hate to admit it sometimes, I am an American. And Americans have an irrational fondness for certain inanimate objects - namely their cars. I have fallen in love with American Steel more than once but this series of shots illustrates the transformation of a little Japanese number known as a 1984 Toyota Pickup with a wooden flatbed.
