#UNSEEN / Art Catalog

#UNSEEN
Giorgio Casu Michele Palazzo


#UNSEEN by Giorgio Casu, Michele Palazzo
Unseen is a brand new collaborative project between artist, Giorgio Casu, and photographer, Michele Palazzo. Born out of a conversation on the intersections and possibilities that a combination of photog- raphy and painting can uncover, the two artists have produced 33 artwork pieces that are novel exten- sions of both mediums, revealing very intimate interpretations of New York daily life.
The individual works represent a re-invention by Casu of a known technique: painting on printed pho- tographs. By overlaying a contrasting artistic form on existing photographs, Casu interweaves an ongoing dialog between two artistic souls with every brushstroke. He first uses traditional fine-art oil grade and acrylic paint; then he adds invisible flourishes with fluorescent paint, visible only by direct exposure to UV light. The effect is to surface a thought-provoking “third perspective” over the initial piece.
All photographs were taken in New York City and depict moments of its frenetic yet poetic life. The interaction between the human and the urban, between individuals and the architecture are the surface-themes depicted by the photographs. Candid in nature, Palazzo's photos are a visual narra- tive; a photographic poem drawing viewers in, composed of colorful streams of interactions between disparate urban elements.
The candid nature is, however, deceptive.
Through Casu's artistic intervention, the hard realism of the photos are cracked open by the strokes of the brush, each one causing small yet seismic shifts in meaning and understanding. The final effect is to trigger a wave of imagination, completing an artistic continuum spanning from photographer to painter to viewer.
Ultimately, the viewer can’t help but shine light on new truths, discovering a fantastical, psychological overlay seeping into the photo’s stoic realism that was, at first, unseen.
Text by Sarah Crown (Art Historian & Curator, New York) sarahcrown.com


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#1 UNSEEN


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#2 THEODORE


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#3 AKIKO


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#4 GO NOWHERE


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#5 SONICYOUTH


#6 JUMPING JACK
oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#7 ALI


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#8 CLOCKWORK


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#9 GREY CONVO


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#10 FIFTY


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#11 DISTRICT


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#12 UNCLE


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#13 PS1


#14 CONEY CONVO
oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#15 BALLERINA


#16 BAG AND GUITAR
oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#17 TATIANA


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#18 C PROPHECY


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#19 MILLE


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#20 BRONX


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#21 LUPES


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#22 JENNIE


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#23 TENNIS


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#24 MOTORBIKE


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#25 YOUR TURN


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#26 BROOKLYN B


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#27 MERMAID


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#28 BUBBLES


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#29 GINGER


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#30 MARLIJN


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#31 CIRCLES


oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper
#32 SUMMER


#33 LITTLE RED LIGHTHOUSE
oil, acrylic and uv ink on fine art photo paper


Giorgio Casu
A native of Sardinia, Italy, Giorgio Casu, or Jorghe as he signs his works, is a contemporary artist, based in New York City. He has been creating artworks and performances all around the world. After working in a psychiatric center and with children as a professional educator, art teacher, and therapist, and after founding a comic association “Chine Vaganti” in Italy, he began focusing on his art career in 2002. He embarked on a 5-year long journey, throughout the UK, Australia, South-East Asia and the USA from which he drew inspiration for most of his early works.
Giorgio’s acrylic paintings, for which he is best known, have been shown in major event and galleries around the world, including the White House, where he presented his portrait of the president Obama in 2010.
His multimedia art project Thrive, engaging international artists and performers through painting, pho- tography, body painting, installations, music, theatre, modern dance, hair design and fashion was well received in New York City, at the Art Basel Miami, and in Byron Bay, Australia and lately it has been featured for the photographic book “Something About Love” with important artists such as Alex Grey, Amanda Sage and Andrew Jones. One of Casu’s solo exhibitions, held at the Atelier in 4th Street Man- hattan, titled Left of Center followed a tribute show of Milton Glazer with more than 20 original artworks. For his second show at the Atelier, titled Lucid dreaming, Giorgio collaborated with a Tiffany & Co photographer, Layla Love. The 4-month long exhibition was presented by the president of the prestigious National Art Club and accompanied with a limited edition book, for which Anthony Haden Guest, art critic for the New York Times and the New Yorker, wrote the introduction. The book was later presented at the 2011 AIPAD photography show in New York City, organized by MoMa and presented by Eric Frank Gallery of London.
While living in Australia, Giorgio collaborate and exhibit at Retrospect Gallery in New South Wales, lived and work on murals in Townsville in North Queensland and partnered with the Blues and Roots Festival creating more than 60 artworks for the biggest festival in Australia . His art extends well beyond the canvas.


Together with his jewelry design Made in Italy, his art has been commissioned for limited edition watch and on the design of a collection of artist series of scarves and electric guitars called the Butterfly. He worked with Revolution Surf Factory and Museum on a design of the original surfboards and cover illustration for Train to roots and Simone Gatto.
It has been featured in numerous events including collaborations with Architectural Digest Design Show, Corcoran Group, Poltrona Frau, Save the Children, NoLongerEmpty, Sheik’n’Beik, Up and Down NY, Hueb ,, Qart, Wook&Lattuada Gallery, Mama Gallery, Jadite Gallery, Miami Art Basel, Italian Cultural Institute, International IMAF fest, Amazon, Aronis Group, CeraSarda, Playwatch, TAP Tulum, Tulum Council, Art backers, Saatchi Art, Myhabits.
The prints on canvas of his work have been sold all around the world and his murals can be found in Miami, Mexico, New York, Italy, Costa Rica, India and Australia.
giorgiocasu.com


Michele Palazzo aka STREETFAUNA
Italian by blood, Architect by training, Digital Designer by day, and a Photographer by heart. Michele started taking pictures many years ago, when he was in high school in Italy. Back then he developed and printed photos in his improvised dark room. Since then photography has become an integral part of his life, and along the way the focus and style have changed and evolved. He’s a visual storyteller, weaving narratives through people’s movements and emotions.
“I think architecture, design and photography share something in common: on top of the visual and creative components, they all relate to us in an unspoken, subliminal way. And that’s what I want to communicate to my audience through those two-dimensional still images after all.”
He lives and operate in New York and this unique city, with so many stories to be told, triggered a new stimulus for his photography when he moved here 6 years ago.
His photographs of life in the city have gained great acclaim, especially a recent series taken during Winter Storm Jonas. The rich, deserted winter cityscapes capture an enchanting side of New York City often obscured in modern times, and offer another glimpse of what makes the the city such a unique place.
“I like to watch people and travel with my imaginations in their lives. My photos are tied to people and their movements and emotions, I’m interested on those little quirks that connect us as humans. It’s that sort of mundane daily things I want to document, and slowly it became a daily routine for me. It makes the world a little closer, especially in NYC.”
www.instagram.com/streetfauna www.eyeem.com/u/streetfauna streetfauna.com


Articles:
The Telegraph UK: This glorious NYC storm photo has been compared to an impressionist painting http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/12128056/Michele-Palazzo- Storm-Jonas-photo-compared-to-an-impressionist-painting.html
The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/jan/29/coupon-kid-jor- don-cox-netflix-chill-travel-tips- news-highlights
This is Colossal: This Photograph of the NYC Winter Storm Looks Like an Impressionist Painting http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2016/01/nyc-blizzard-photo/
EyeEm Blog: Going Viral With EyeEm: The Story Behind THAT #Blizzard2016 Photo https://www.ey- eem.com/blog/2016/01/going-viral-with-eyeem-the-story-behind-that- blizzard2016-photo/
The Phoblogapher: Street Fauna: A Deep Love for Street Photography in NYC http://www.thephoblog- rapher.com/2016/01/30/street-fauna-a/#.Vre4NZMrJ-U
Gessato: Italian Photographer Michele Palazzo Paints A Unique Image Of New York http://blog.gessa- to.com/2016/02/29/italian-photographer-michele-palazzo-paints-a-unique- image-of-new-york/
Paper Magazines:
Polka Magazine #33 - 2016 - France http://www.polkamagazine.com/ FotoMAGAZIN #4 - April 2016 - Germany http://www.fotomagazin.de/ Digital photographer Magazine - UK http://www.dphotographer.co.uk/
Awards:
First Price - i-Shot by Leica: Premium Photo Competition 2015 http://www.i-shot-it.com/photo-competition-results.php?pcid=564bc12d07612
First Price - International Photographer of the Year 2015 Category: http://www.iphotographeroftheyear.com/


#UNSEEN New York, April 2016
Giorgio Casu [email protected] IG: @giorgiocasu
Michele Palazzo [email protected] IG: @streetfauna