And so it goes...

Chris Lattanzio

Chris Lattanzio has invented a bold new style of 3-D Line Sculptures, creating his works of depth and shadow basked in white.  The outcome is the subtle marriage of simple lines and complex wavelengths of light. As delicate as they are strong, these skeletal spectaculars clearly illustrate Chris' unique vision.

Chris discovers his subjects through presence and instinct; struck either viscerally or spiritually—or often both. He first captures the subject in his viewfinder, reduces the image to lines, sketches in ink, and then applies the image to surfaces carved and assembled on a flat base. Somewhere in this inspired and intricate process, an altogether new form emerges. Ultimately, the depths of the lines inform the exchange of shadow and light. Lastly, the works are painted white to enhance this light play.

Chris experiments with depths of lines and creates a dance of shadow, giving fullness to his figures. Personally, he says, the study of light and shadow drives him to a kind of acceptance with himself and the world around him.

Holding a B.B.A in Economics (minor in International Business and Information Systems) from Baylor University, and also educated at the prestigious New York University Film School, Chris has a truly extraordinary understanding of culture and distinctive perspective of the world that influences every aspect of his own work and life in art.

As an artist, Chris has turned his experience into something quite distinguished. One of his pieces, “Spirit of the Downhill”, was an Official Selection of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. You can see this piece and much more of Chris's work for yourself inside

www.chrislattanzio.com.

Artist Statement                   

I have a degree in economics, and a minor in international business and information systems. No art classes, just a yearning for a meaning I did not find inside the classroom. I graduated, went to New York and worked underwriting entertainment insurance. I visited the museums…a lot. I decided that the “corporate world” was not for me and left New York. Back in Texas, I taught myself art. A basic course in design, multiple visits to artist studies, books, magazines and criticism from every opinion imaginable was my education. I met Donald Judd through his daughter Rainer Judd during this time; he showed me the effects of materials, color, and light on space at his museum in Marfa Texas.

Books on Durer and Michelangelo showed me the power of strong lines.  I got to see some works personally a few years ago when I visited Italy for three weeks, right before 9-11.
Paintings by Matisse and Van Gogh (that I saw through the traveling Barnes exhibit) soften my edges and pointed me towards eastern philosophy and the art of Japan and China from the 1800’s to present.
Lastly, a great spirit, living artist John Nieto, guides me by sharing his thoughts, his lines and his images of life. This energy, a circle of thought, ripples over me.

Art works

 Site specific commission work represents 80% of my business. I completed a project in Las Colinas in 1996 (that measured 14 x 36 ft) that taught me about creating large works. Emeryville California is another project I am proud of, creating large lobby piece (20 x 25 ft Buddha portrait from a 20 x 25 inch sculpture) along with Nobel portraits and my first outdoor sculpture, Pathways (a 10 ft x 5 ft plastic resin reinforced with fiber glass sculpture) that hangs on the side of the building. 

The low relief sculptures in white are called 3-D line sculptures. The imagery is the people, places and things I find in my viewfinder. I reduce the complex image to simple lines, sketching in ink and then applying image to surfaces/planes that are carved and assembled on a flat base. The depths of the lines adjust the interplay of shadows and light. The art works are painted white to best express a feeling of peace- cool, organized and working with light  My images appear isolated;  a reflection of my perceived global isolation due to the US/Bush administration policies during the last eight years.  The mono color also removes my image one step farther from reality (something I once read about Edward Weston and his use of black and white imagery). I see my work leaning more towards abstraction in the sense that I am trying to create a feeling with the sculpture, a presence in space that moves beyond image and lines.

Lately, I have begun exploring color and the warmth color can bring to my work. I feel the urge to embrace hope by bringing color back into my art creation. Coming off the walls and to stand free is another statement I am learning and growing. I look forward to combining all these techniques into works that will help me explain why I am here and what is the purpose of my life.

"Peace comes from being able to contribute the best that we have, and
All that we are, toward creating a world that supports everyone”
I appreciate the opportunity to share my art with you. Peace.

Biography - Chris Lattanzio
Date of Birth: June 4, 1963

Education
Baylor University         B.B.A Economics                            1981-1986
Baylor University         Information Systems                       1987

Selected Invitational Group Exhibitions
Dallas Cultural Center Bath House                                  12/08-01/09 winter show
21st Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition                                     10/07
Art Works- NTBCA 2007 Leadership Arts                             3/07
Walter N. Marks Center for the Arts, Palm Desert, California    2/06-3/06   Art of the Olympics                  
College of the Desert                                                                                   Three Decades of Art
Jesuit Dallas Museum, Dallas, Texas                                      2/06            Kaleidoscope of Art
Enchanted Gallery, Dallas, Texas                                           1/18- 5/06 Olympic artists John Nieto and                                                                          Chris lattanzio 
Ventanna Fine Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico                             1/05-5/05  
Southwest Design, New Orleans, Louisiana                        12/04-10/05
Nieto Fine Art, Dallas Texas                                                   12/04-3/05      
John Patrick Fine Art, Dallas, Texas                                   6/04
John Patrick Fine Art, Dallas, Texas                                   2/04-3/04
2encond Saturday (St. Paul Place), Dallas, Texas           12/03
2encond Saturday (Umlaut), Dallas, Texas                      11/03
2encond Saturday (Rare Medium), Dallas, Texas            10/03
2encond Saturday (Davis Building), Dallas, Texas             9/03
Bloom Street Gallery, Houston, Texas                                2/01      Group Show
500X, Dallas, Texas                                                            5/01
Lattanzio Art House, Dallas, Texas                                     9/00-10/00  Man Machine and Motion
Gallery Lombardi, Austin, Texas                                         5/99-6-/9     Group Show
Laughing at the Sun Gallery, Austin, Texas                        4/99             Group Show
Florence Art Gallery, Dallas, Texas                                     5/97                          Group Show
500X, Dallas, Texas                                                          12/94            Xmas Show
Florence Art Gallery, Dallas, Texas                                     4/93             Art walk

 

Selected Solo Exhibitions
Open Studio    Lattanzio Art, Dallas                                       10/08
Republic Group- NTBCA 2007 Leadership Arts                   4/07-6/07  
Supper Club , San Francisco, California                                3/06-4/06   Fine Line
Red Ink Studios, San Francisco, California                            2/06            Peace in White
Weisfeld Center, Dallas, Texas                                          3/04
Lakewood Theatre, Dallas, Texas                                    11/02           Through the Eyes of Child in
Moving Pictures
Lattanzio Art House, Dallas, Texas                                  11/01       A light in the Darkness
Lattanzio Art House, Dallas, Texas                                    3/01-05/01  Art House
Lattanzio Art House, Dallas, Texas                                  12/00-1/01           People, Places and Things
Lattanzio Art House, Dallas, Texas                                    2/00-4/00     Profiles in Wood
Lattanzio Art House, Dallas, Texas                                  11/99-12/99  Grand Opening

Curatorial Projects
2encond Saturday (St. Paul Place), Dallas, Texas           12/03
2encond Saturday (Umlaut), Dallas, Texas                      11/03
2encond Saturday (Rare Medium), Dallas, Texas            10/03
2encond Saturday (Davis Building), Dallas, Texas             9/03

Workshops
City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs                                       10/07
Public Art 101: Artists’ Workshop

Mold Making-Casting Workshop Class
John Reynolds-instructor                                                              9/07

Public Installations:
Emeryville Station East, Emeryville, California                       2007 May
Winter Olympics, Torino, Italy                                                2006 February
Dallas Jesuit Museum  Dallas Texas                                     2005 November
Majestic Theater Dallas, Texas                                              2004 December
Hyatt Regency  Dallas Texas                                                 2004 January
Weisfeld Center  Dallas, Texas                                              2004 September
AAA  Las Colinas, Texas                                                        2004 July
Dallas Jesuit Museum  Dallas, Texas                                    2002 May
Dallas Jesuit Museum  Dallas, Texas                                    1997 May
Corporate Plaza One (CSI, Inc.) Las Colinas Texas             1996 July

Corporate Collections:
The Patty and Raymond Nasher Collection Dallas, Texas
Picasso Software  Richardson, Texas
International Speakers Bureau, Dallas Texas
Simbol Commercial    Dallas, Texas
Tektronics, Las Colinas, Texas
MIK and Associates  Dallas, Texas
Landmark Mortgagae Dallas, Texas
AAA  Las Colinas, Texas
El Fenix  Dallas, Texas
Courtroom Services Inc., Las Colinas, Texas
Renaissance Meetings  Dallas, Texas
Dallas Jesuit Museum  Dallas, Texas
Enterprise Rental Car  Dallas, Texas
Majestic Theater  Dallas, Texas
Weisfeld Center Dallas, Texas
VPI  Dallas, Texas
Dallas City Hall  Dallas, Texas
Good Fulton And Fuller,  Dallas, Texas
HKS  Dallas, Texas
Wareham Development, San Rafael, California
Emeryville, California
Hyatt Regency, Dallas, Texas