jm rizzi
Born:
1975 Brooklyn, NY
Graduated:
School Of Visual Arts, NYC 1997 BFA
JM Rizzi’s ceaselessly self-elaborating body of work skips, slides, and glides across surfaces, leaving polished paintings in its wake. The artist’s creations illustrate his own stream of consciousness while striking a profound resonance with viewers. Rizzi came of age in New York City during the transformative 1990s. His creative journey sprouted from the Lower East Side’s grittier days with a looping trail of spray paint that caught a life of its own and never looked back. The artist’s practice transcends the subcultures that nourished his creatively formative years. His paintings ask questions only to answer them moments later—an animated conversation between positive and negative space facilitated by rhythm.
Spontaneity serves as his greatest tool for exploration. Through trial and error, he chips away at the mun- dane, mining for light bulb moments. Rizzi began to experiment when he started studying at SVA, com- bining graffiti’s ethos with an ever-expanding oeuvre of artistic inspirations culled out of curiosity rather than clout. His greatest inspirations arise from abstract expressionists like Franz Kline, Helen Frankenthal- er, and Cy Twombly, all artists who held spontaneity in high esteem. Their sensibilities bolster Rizzi’s deep belief in the profound value of a moment.
Upon beginning, Rizzi swiftly selects the most dynamic portions of gestural marks. He rearranges pieces, zooming in on certain areas and making impulsive alterations elsewhere. Rizzi adds depth to these forms with collage and all manner of paint, providing each work of art with an entire statement condensed into one instant. Bold, playful, and incredibly colorful, Rizzi likens his work’s hues to musical notes—bright colors are horn pops, muted tones form bass lines.
Bright colors also create easier communication with his audiences. Rizzi repeatedly returns to pop art motifs like saturated palettes, strong outlines, and repetition to interact directly with the viewer’s subcon- scious mind. This effect is emphasized by the large scale he often works in, a statement of grandiosity and playfulness which fully immerses viewers with every appraisal. Absent narrative, absent agenda, the colors in Rizzi’s art allow it to consult directly with the mind in a straightforward fashion, empowered by the same animal attraction that draws shoppers to the reddest, shiniest apple at the supermarket’s stand.
Beyond skateboarding and graffiti, Rizzi also considers nature a powerful inspiration, ironic given his urban origins. Today he lives in Dallas, Texas amongst a landscape that always proves surprising. Birds unexpectedly court in his backyard, where he watches the sunset tinge the shifting clouds to create new gradients and shades. He emulates this spontaneity, driving at a standard beyond human dominion.
Above all, Rizzi’s greatest focus lies in contributing his own voice to the contemporary artistic dialogue art by synthesizing all that he observes and all that inspires him. His hands passively conduct ideas, histories, subcultures and emotions. This mindful evolution has even led him into brash territories—his most recent series, Cause and Effect, dabbles in the figurative after a long infatuation with abstraction. This trend has so far allowed the artist to transmute moments into entire landscapes. Regardless of scale, Rizzi’s work possesses an undeniable ability for placemaking. All the while, it races the winding road of its own contin- uous script in search of a shifting visual language able to convey Rizzi’s own unique story, an inner story which transcends words.
SHOP
EXHIBITION HISTORY
2020
- Psychedilic Robot - Bivins Gallery - Dallas, TX - Solo Exhibition - Raffles City - Shenzen, China
2019
- Beyond the Sunset - Woodward Gallery - New York City - Shiny and New - Carneal Simmons Gallery - Dallas, TX
2018
- Nien’s Adventure in Lanes - Chengdu, China
2017
- Chromatose - Chesterfield Gallery - New York City - Steady Hustle - Wall Works Gallery - New York City
2016
- Hairy Crab Festival - Souzhou Village, China
- Art Swagger - Gensler - Los Angeles, California
- Motion Forward: Street Style - Albany Museum of Art - Albany, Georgia
- The Sanest Days are Mad - Erin Cluley Gallery - Dallas, Texas
- Fall Salon Group Exhibition - Woodward Gallery - New York City
2015
- Bottle Rock Music Festival - Napa Valley, California
- Piece Out - WAAS Gallery - Dallas, Texas
- Untitled Solo Show - Neighborhood Gallery - Dallas, Texas
- Untitled Group Show - Sugar lift Gallery - Brooklyn, New York
- Visual Language - Zener Schon Contemporary Art - Mill Valley, California
2014
- Sheer Power - Woodward Gallery - New York City
- Project Space Retrospective: 2008-2014 - Woodward Gallery - New York City
- Linescapes - Circuit 12 Gallery - Dallas, Texas
- Untitled Solo Show - Muzeion Gallery - Dallas, Texas
- The Great Escape - JOYCE - Hong Kong, China
2013
- Ways and Means - Mighty Tanaka Gallery - Brooklyn, New York
2012
- F*ck Art - Museum of Sex - New York City
2011
- Color & Motion - Mighty Tanaka Gallery - Brooklyn, New York - Fountain Art Fair Solo Booth - The Frying Pan - New York City
2010
- Of Clouds and Something Else - Mighty Tanaka Gallery - Brooklyn, New York - Contemporary Abstractions - Powerhouse Arena - Brooklyn, New York
- UnderBelly Project - New York City
2009
- Mighty Tanaka Presents - Dapper Dan’s Pop Up Gallery - New York City
2008
- As Is - Mighty Tanaka Pop Up Gallery - Brooklyn, New York - Urban Mantra - Chashama Gallery - New York City
2007
- Behind The Seen - Ad Hoc Art - Brooklyn, New York
MURALS & COMMISSIONS
2019
- Mural - The Hill - Dallas, TX
- Mural - Trintiy Groves - Dallas, TX
2018
- Commission - Pod Hotel - New York City
2017
- Mural - Rockefeller Center - New York City - Commission - Pod Hotel - New York City
2016
- Mural - 360 Bond St - New York City
- Mural - Collaboration with John “Crash” Matos - Jersey City, New Jersey
- Mural - Bushwick Collective collaboration with Tats Cru - Brooklyn, New York
2015
- Mural - Grand Central Tech - New York City
- Commission - Four Seasons Hotel - New York City
- Commission - Wesleyan - Houston, Texas
- Mural - Josey Records - Dallas, Texas
2014
- Commission - Beverly Hills Hotel - Beverly Hills, California
- Mural - HDTV @ SxSW - Dallas, Texas
- Mural - Vevo collaboration with Shepard Fairey @ SxSW - Dallas, Texas
- Mural - Bushwick Collective collaboration with COL - Brooklyn, New York City - Mural - Dallas Contemporary - Dallas, Texas
2013
- Mural - Bushwick Collective - Brooklyn, New York City
- Mural - Trinity Groves Restaurant - Dallas, Texas
- Collaboration - Jimmy Choo, Emil Pucci, Preonza Schouler @ JOYCE - Hong Kong, China
2012
- Mural - DUMBO Arts Council - Brooklyn, New York City - Commission - Hi Line - Dallas, Texas
2011
- Commission - Nike House of Hoops - Chicago, Illinois
- Mural - The Aqueduct Murals @ The Aqueduct Racetrack - New York City
2009
- Mural - Mark Batty Publisher Urban Art Festival - Brooklyn, New York
PHOTOGRAPHY © Kurt Griesbach 2022
