Joseph Pisani
Encyclopedia
Joseph Pisani is an American artist
, abstract painter, photographer, travel writer living in Switzerland.
, by a second generation Italian family with strong ethnic roots. He was originally taught to draw and paint by his grandmother at around the age of seven.
He left New York in 1994 and traveled throughout America, including visits to forty-two of the fifty states, before setting off on a "backpack" solo tour of Western Europe
. He stayed in Prague
for a time, and in 1996 settled in the Rocky mountains
, West of Denver, Colorado
. As well as painting and drawing, he began to design and produce furniture and to experiment with wood sculpture and mixed media
.
In 1998 he traveled again in Europe and the Middle East
and found "an interesting spot hidden between two worlds" in the South Sinai, Egypt
, where he discovered Scuba diving
. The influence of the colorful underwater life of the Red Sea
is apparent in paintings, such as: "The Secrets of the Underwater World", and "Deep (Approximately 63 Meters Below the Red Sea)".
Pisani continues to travel extensively, and uses his travel as the main source of inspiration for his art.
of Mark Rothko
and Barnett Newman
. However, unlike Rothko, who purposely avoided giving titles to his work, because he did not want to influence viewers, Pisani deliberately lends clues through the poetic titles of his paintings:
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, abstract painter, photographer, travel writer living in Switzerland.
Life
Joseph Pisani was born and raised in the Bronx, New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, by a second generation Italian family with strong ethnic roots. He was originally taught to draw and paint by his grandmother at around the age of seven.
He left New York in 1994 and traveled throughout America, including visits to forty-two of the fifty states, before setting off on a "backpack" solo tour of Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. He stayed in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
for a time, and in 1996 settled in the Rocky mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
, West of Denver, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. As well as painting and drawing, he began to design and produce furniture and to experiment with wood sculpture and mixed media
Mixed media
Mixed media, in visual art, refers to an artwork in the making of which more than one medium has been employed.There is an important distinction between "mixed-media" artworks and "multimedia art". Mixed media tends to refer to a work of visual art that combines various traditionally distinct...
.
In 1998 he traveled again in Europe and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and found "an interesting spot hidden between two worlds" in the South Sinai, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, where he discovered Scuba diving
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
. The influence of the colorful underwater life of the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
is apparent in paintings, such as: "The Secrets of the Underwater World", and "Deep (Approximately 63 Meters Below the Red Sea)".
Pisani continues to travel extensively, and uses his travel as the main source of inspiration for his art.
Art
Pisani's is influenced by the Abstract ExpressionismAbstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
of Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko, born Marcus Rothkowitz , was a Russian-born American painter. He is classified as an abstract expressionist, although he himself rejected this label, and even resisted classification as an "abstract painter".- Childhood :Mark Rothko was born in Dvinsk, Vitebsk Province, Russian...
and Barnett Newman
Barnett Newman
Barnett Newman was an American artist. He is seen as one of the major figures in abstract expressionism and one of the foremost of the color field painters.-Early life:...
. However, unlike Rothko, who purposely avoided giving titles to his work, because he did not want to influence viewers, Pisani deliberately lends clues through the poetic titles of his paintings:
Recent Exhibitions (* denotes Solo Exhibition)
- 2011 Kunstgalerie Bachlechner, Bergdietikon, Switzerland, "Chaos Within - 40 Years Pisani", Under the Patronage of the US Consulate in Zurich*
- 2011 Gallery Ferin, Helsinki, Finland, When The Morning Star Begins to Fade
- 2009-28 November 2010, 2009 - January 16, 2010, Gallery Eule-Art, Davos, Switzerland "Fire & Ice"
- 15 April 2009, 2009, Artseefeld, Zurich, Switzerland "AGENT 488"*
- 4 February 2008, 2008, United Nations Office Geneva, "Oh Sweet Serendipity" Special Showing in Association with Sri Lanka's 60th Independence Anniversary* Info. and photos from exhibition
- 19 January 2008 - February 23, 2008, Kunstgalerie Bachlechner, Weiningen, Switzerland, “Oh Sweet Serendipity” Under the Patronage of the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations office in Geneva*
- 29 September 2007 - December 23, 2007, Kunstgalerie Bachlechner, Ost Tirol, Austria, “Kunst Verbindet” — together with Le Corbusier, Hans Peter Profunser, Marianne Liegl...
- 27 January 2007 - February 25, 2007, Kunstgalerie Bachlechner, Weiningen, Switzerland, “Magic Cube” — together with Jan Janczak, Paul Cartier, Paul Racle...
- 26 October 2006–Present (Permanent Exhibit), Consulate of the USA in Zurich, Switzerland, “All the Colors of My Memories from Home”*
- 18 November 2006 - December 23, Kunstgalerie Bachlechner, Weiningen,Switzerland, ”Train Station” — together with Charles Sambono (Zambia), Gerry Mayer (Austria)
- 2006 September - November, Zurich, Switzerland, *“That Lasting Tingle of Déjà Vu”*, Under the patronage of the consulate of the USA in Zurich
- 2006 May, Gallery Steinegger, Ruedlingin, Switzerland, "The Trials & Misdemeanors of Life on the Road"*
- 2006 January - March, Grafik & Text Atelier, Zug, Switzerland, "How to do Everything in Just One Lifetime"*
- 2005 April, Gallery Nordstrasse, Zurich, Switzerland, "Acquaintances in Foreign Places"*