Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Caruso.
Joe, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
When I was nine or ten years old, I remember applying to an art school that offered correspondence courses. Although they required that applicants be at least 18 years of age, I lied and told them that I was 25 years old. They sent me a booklet with a set of art exercises which I completed and returned to them.
Several months later, as I was having dinner with my parents, the doorbell rang and to my great surprise, it was a representative from the art school. You can imagine the shock on his face as well as my parents’ consternation as I had never mentioned my application to them.
That was my first attempt at formal art education. Several years later, in junior high school, I made the decision to become a commercial artist after making a fabulous 3-D advertisement for Nestle’s Chocolate as a class assignment. However, as fate would have it, I ended up pursuing a career in education and went on to receive a Doctor of Education degree and spent many years teaching at the college level.
During this period, I continued my art practice and education. My principal training came from studying classical drawing and painting in the studio. After acquiring basic fundamentals and sharpening my artistic vision, I experimented with many different methods and media, which has brought me to where I am today.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
With references to the field of archaeology, my work today consists of painting, sculptural assemblage and combinations of both, and explores the themes of discovery, time and transformation. My practice draws inspiration from ancient mythology.
In my sculpture, I use objects reclaimed from the street, from bins on trash day, from thrift shops and from my studio. They become a starting point for something new and re-emerge, transformed into fresh compositions, given new life and meaning.
Just as the archaeologist’s exploration involves destruction and reconstruction, the surfaces of my paintings and painting/sculpture combinations are worked and reworked over time. Materials in my paintings include oil, wax, glass, shells, minerals and shards of plaster. The painting surfaces are rough and crude on the one hand and have a hint of sparkle on the other.
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
In a city like Boston which is booming and where rents are high, artists need inexpensive studio work space. Artists are being pushed out as old buildings become condos and high tech workplaces.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
My work is shown regularly at Galatea Fine Art in Boston. I am currently preparing for my next solo show which will be in June, 2019. My work can also be viewed at my studio in South Boston.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.joecaruso.net
- Email: joecaruso100@gmail.com
- Instagram: joecarusoart
Image Credit:
Photos: Stephanie Arnett
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