BIOGRAPHY
Miami based French artist Rocco was born and raised in Nice by his Italian family.
Very creative at an early age, Rocco was attracted to and fascinated by 19th and 20th century artists. He was particularly inspired by surrealism/cubism movements and masters, including Picasso, Fernand Leger and Cocteau and by American expressionist as Basquiat.
Rocco pursued a practical, successful carrier in economy/business and finance. Quickly, he returned to his first love: being creative, being an artist. Fascinated by geometric forms, colors, fashion and hair texture, Rocco changed direction of career and became a very successful hair designer wining numerous awards in France.
Following his move to Paris, where he lived in Montmartre, Rocco pursued his passion for hair and fashion, met incredibly talented artists and worked in collaboration with the fashion industry.
Surrounded by museums, culture and artists that influenced his artistic vision, he created and kept many drawings a necessary part of his artistic expression.
In 2006 Rocco moved to United States, first working for a high-end French franchise. Next, he established his own business as a successful hair designer. This business venture fulfilled his thirst for creativity for most of the time. Then, Covid and the world shutdown. Isolated at home and unable to care for his clients, Rocco decided to express himself through another universal language of visual art: Painting. Inspired by all the events that were happening in the world and delving deeply within himself as going to a psychanalysis, a series of artwork was the result.
He has been exhibiting his artworks since.
CV
EXBIBITIONS:
-11/2021 Exhibition at the Plunge Fort Lauderdale
-02/2023 Exhibition at the Fort Lauderdale Yacht Club Fine Art
-03/2024 First in price Award at Broward Art Guild Iconic Earth Exhibit
-04/2024 Solo Exhibit at Broward Art guild
– 09/20/2024 to 12/20/2024 Wynwood Juried Show Digital 2024
DIPLOMAS:
-Master accountancy and business
-Master hair designer and color
AWARDS AND EVENTS:
-1st place award at French hairstyling championship (France)
-Hair designer for Elite Models annual show 2004/2005
-Hair Designer for fashion show (Paris), short film in competition in Cannes Festival Movie
-Hair designer for runaway Fort Lauderdale covered by Deco Drive
PUBLICATIONS:
-Prima Magazine party hair style (Paris)
– 2 TV commercial in collaboration with the famous photograph Bettina Rheims (Paris)
-Wynwood Juries show 2024 in National Press article EIN NEWSPRESS
STATEMENT
Rocco showcases his artwork, challenging the boundaries of colors and shapes expressing them in an abstract, cubism, surrealist form with portraits as his favorite genre for portrait for the endless opportunities to create colorful characters and pieces that are a reflection of himself, his dreams, his thoughts, his life, the complexity of human being, feelings, the world and what is our/his place in this world. Rocco reimagining all of this with mixed techniques and always a nostalgic nod to his heritage, merging tangible and intangible, to create original pieces that leave the audience the freedom of interpretation.
Crossing different cultural experiences added more colors to his palette of diversity.
