Justin Rotolo - exhibition catalogue and artist information
Artist information
Justin was born on Manhattan's Lower East side and raised in Brooklyn. With family roots in the East and West Village of Manhattan, he witnessed the vibrant and flourishing art scene of 1980's New York, which proved to be particularly influential on the young mind. From an early age, Justin was thinking of ways to explore art as a profession. Motivated to be an animator or puppeteer, he assembled a portfolio and was accepted into New York's High School of Art and Design. As home computers and video games became more prevalent, his interests in technology lead him to pursue a career in digital art. While at the School of Visual Arts, he focused on becoming an animator and artist for the big Hollywood studios. After more than a dozen years doing that, Justin looks to his roots for artistic fulfillment and personal expression. |
Exhibition Consternation and Applause
16 August-7 September 2013 Exhibition statement
"I have here a series of paintings and illustrations that I've done over photographs I took of New York City back in the year 2000. Basically, I went around dark and wet Manhattan with a camera and a couple of rolls of 35mm slide film. With a long exposure I was able to get these smeary lights and saturated colors while capturing unspectacular occurrences in daily New York life. I came across the slides after they sat around in a box for thirteen or fourteen years, then decided to get them scanned after giving them another look. When I saw them on the computer for the first time, I felt that these images had a lot of potential. I saw things in them... abstractions that could be exploited and more clearly presented to the viewer.
After working on a few, I found that my approach to working with the slides was exactly how I approach a painting. Preferring to work and visualize subconsciously, a narrative and theme takes shape after a number of passes. I can appreciate the surrealists to a fair degree and always thought it was interesting and fulfilling to let the art take you - allowing the moment and the piece to motivate you without thinking too much about it. Once I've gone though a number of iterations, then I can begin to find the artwork. Structure and narrative develops from the process."
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Below: all works from Consternation and Applause
- All ten works in Consternation and Applause are pigment prints on Epson Lustre paper
- Limited edition of 5. Framed prints in gallery are #1 of 5, print size 42x30cm, frame size 50x38cm
- Price per work is $550.00 framed, $450.00 without frame.
- Shipping extra
Below: Justin Rotolo artworks in Room 2 (click on small photos for details & enlarged view)
Below: Justin Rotolo artworks in Room 4 (click on small photos for details & enlarged view)