Joe Carrozzo is based in Long Island, NY and has a body of work that both is both charming and disconcerting.
His work consists of vibrant colour use and energetic paint handling, which gives each painting a sense of life, but not reality. The figures and colours are distorted by this quick wet on wet application of paint, and they are created with decisive brushstrokes. There is a narrative quality to the exaggerated and almost cartoon-like forms, and their child-like innocence tames even his raciest subject matter. There is also an element of humour to Carrazzo's work, and he describes it as "sarcastic and having a perverse fascination with the stupid choices people make and the unpredictable circumstances they find themselves in."
We can see familiar moments reflected in Joe Carrazzo's expressive paintings, and can't help but wonder if they have an element of self-portraiture!
