Marco Gallotta Captures Lady Gaga and More

Marco Gallotta is an Italian-born, New York City-based artist. He received his associate’s degree in fashion illustration and a bachelor’s degree in general illustration from the Fashion Institute of Technology. He grew up in Italy, before moving to New York City in 1998.

His artistic craft consists mostly of paper-cutting techniques, drawing, painting, and printmaking.

His clients include Chanel, Nike, Vogue, Campari, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of New York City , Radio City Music Hall, Academy Award winner Ennio Morricone, actor Will Smith, NBA player Gigi Datome, Dolce and Gabbana, celebrity tv host Samantha Bee, Festival of Spoleto (Italy) and fashion entrepreneur Renzo Rosso.

What inspires you?

My major inspiration is the complex relationship between humans and nature. To me, humans and nature are a single entity. Man is nature and plays a part in everything on this earth in which he lives. My works do not try to imitate nature, but they are often inspired by elements such as the wind, water and fire.

New York is also a huge source of inspiration. New York, with its multicultural and multiethnic reality, is the ideal platform for artistic expression worldwide, a rare place where the creativity of the vast cultural movements converges, creating synergies but also stimulating unique individual paths.

How do you approach new pieces?

My technique is the result of continuous research and experimentation.
It starts with an image: it can be a photograph that I took, a photo from an old magazine, an ink drawing or a collage I did. Then I add paint or ink, sometimes wax and then I cut the paper with a scalpel with surgical precision.

My works are often composed by multiple layers of cut-out paper that give a sculptural feeling to the artwork.

You’re mostly known for your portraits. What do you want to achieve when you create them?

The human body is always a focal point in the cutouts. It is always a part of my work. The layers of paper represent something beyond the person’s outer image. The layers are a way to look at the person’s inner self or the true meaning of my subjects. The layers are a way to look beyond the superficial appearance.

You recently left the Big Apple to return to Italy to participate at the 77th edition of the Venice Film Festival for the presentation of the short film Waiting for woody. What was your role in the making of the short film? Can you give us more information about the film?

The idea for the film was born when I met the Italian actor Yari Gugliucci and we decided to collaborate on a creative project. The direction of the movie was given to Claudio Napoli, a well-known figure in the film industry, who in the past has been awarded the prestigious David di Donatello. Yari and I have wanted to work together for some time, looking for a formula that would combine our different artistic approaches. The movie is a tribute to a film icon such as Woody Allen. The idea behind it is to show New York through our different practices, a New York of the past, as is often present in the films of the master. The movie, in addition to being a tribute, tries to offer a reflection on the moment in which we live, asking questions of a certain weight. In the making I was co-producer and co-writer, as well as one of the two interpreters of the film.

How does an artist come into contact with high-level commercial realities?

The branded artist is something that has always existed, Warhol himself was born in this way.

Personally, I love working with brands because I see them as challenges and I love to associate my name with prestigious brands such as Chanel or Campari and create something up to their level. I work a lot in my studio on personal projects, but whenever I can, however, I try to propose my works and carry out projects with brands.

Today, Marco resides with his wife and daughter in New York City, where he finds inspiration in its urbanscape, distinct artistic facets, and diverse population. He currently practices his craft in an intimate studio workshop in West Harlem. His vast expertise in mixed media techniques, including drawing, painting, and printmaking, add to his work a unique combination of artisan craftsmanship and graphic sensibility. Watercolors, inks, and graphite are applied to photographs that are then cut out. Layers of cut-out photographs, paper and other materials are strategically overlapped to create ingenious compositions.

Professional Experience

2015 Guest Lecturer, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City
2014 Guest Lecturer, New Lebanon School, Greenwich, CT
2005-2008 Adjunct Professor, Fashion Institute of Technology, Fashion Drawing 2005 Guest Lecturer, Society of Illustrators, New York City

Awards

Premio Comunicare l’Europa, Italian House of Representatives, Rome

List of shows

2019 Solo Show “Marco Gallotta”, Core Club, New York City
2019 Solo Show “Sidewalk Diaries”, Copernico, Milan Italy
2018 Group show “If So What?”, Palace of Fine Arts, San Franciscso
2017 Solo Show “Hybrid Theories” Palazzo Fruscione, Salerno, Italy
2017 Group Show “Woman as Warrior” Zhou Art Center, Chicago
2016 Group show “Primary Obverse” One Art Space Gallery, New York City 2015 Group show “What’s inside her never dies” Yeelen Gallery, Miami, Florida 2015 Group show – “Structure and Perspective”, Snap! Orlando, Orlando, Florida 2014 Group show – “Festina Lente”, Con Artist collective, Whinwood, Miami 2014 Group show- International Arts Coalition, New York
2013 Group show – “Art Meets Fashion”, Industry City, Brooklyn, New York 2013 Solo show – First Bank of Greenwich – Greenwich, Connecticut
2008 Solo show – “Deconstructing Nature”, Cavallerizza A Chiaia Art
Studio Gallery, Naples, Italy
2005 Group show- Art Directors Club , New York City
2004 Group show – “Four”, S.E.E.D. Gallery, Dumbo Brooklyn

Private Collections

Will Smith, actor
Woody Allen, actor
Gigi Datome, NBA player
Renzo Rosso, fashion entrepreneur Dolce & Gabbana, fashion designers

Public Collections

111th Street 7 Line Subway Station, New York (to be completed in 2020) 30 Mornigside Drive, New York City
Waipointe Building, Norwalk, Connecticut
First Bank of Greenwich, Greenwich, Connecticut
JHouse, Greenwich, Connecticut

For more information please visit his website at https://www.marcogallotta.net/. For all sale enquiries please contact: reiss@artsmanagementmagazine.com. A percentage of all sales will be donated to charity.