Collection: Gerry Giorgio
A FEW THINGS ABOUT THE ARTIST
1. What do you do when you’re not making art? (Day job etc...).
I have spent my life and continue to work in horticulture.
2. Why do you make art?
I make art, painting and drawing specifically, to tell stories.
3. What inspires you?
My personal experience, topical events, mythologies or whatever happens to come through me.
4. What/who are your influences?
Pain, joyfulness, suffering, contentment, imperfection, melancholy, nature, color, conflict, fear, love.
5. If you could meet anyone dead or alive who would it be?
I’d like to meet Bob Dylan at a party with DaVinci, Van Gogh, Siddhartha Gautama and Larry David.
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Artist spotlight with Gerry Giorgio
How has your art practice differed from what you originally envisioned when you started?
When I first seriously began creating art I was working with ink on paper. They were composites of images that suggested a dream, a story, a fantasy. They were black and white and graphical in nature. Now I work with paint on boards. So, from the perspective of media, I have changed a lot. Also, media can influence your style. Then, my work was more illustrative and planned. More precise in its application. Now, working in paint, my style is looser and more expressive. I still do a lot of sketching to generate ideas and play with subjects and compositions. But then put them away and go to the easel and paint what comes out. My work now is more expressive and emotive. Some is provoking.
When did you know you were an artist?
I can’t pinpoint a specific moment. After a second solo show and successful openings. When I began selling my paintings. Winning some 'best of show’ recognition. These things helped validate my work and my idea of being an artist. However, I think I knew I was an artist when I developed a regular practice of painting and sketching. It moved me to accepting and knowing myself as an artist, as it became such a large part of a daily routine and of who I am. It’s not an activity that I engage in randomly or infrequently. It’s a daily thing, and has resulted in a large body of work by constantly being engaged in the process.
What do you think the job of an artist is?
This can vary between different artists. So, I am speaking for myself here in saying that my job as an artist is to express myself and then share what I have created. But I never create something with an idea of acceptance or marketability. I would paint these pictures even if no one ever saw them. Sharing is important, but not the reason I paint. So, I just create for myself. I hang them all over my studio and in my house or just stack them up against a wall. I am always grateful when my work is acknowledged. But I know that there are a small number of people who will connect with what I have created. Another few might really hate it. And most won’t give a shit about it. My job is to just create and see what happens.
What are you most proud of in terms of your art?
Click to watch Gerry Giorgio’s answer!
Check out the 4 part interview series with Gerry Giorgio on our Instagram page!