Rocco Tullio (b.13th April 1978) is a Wicklow artist of immense talent. In 1997, after finishing art school in Ireland, he decided to further his artistic education in Florence. There he was trained in the classical techniques of drawing and painting from 1998 until 2003.Rocco’s work hangs in many private collections.

This new body of work shows a move away from the traditional portraiture that many of his collectors would associate him with. The show marks a new direction in his search, although the classical foundation is evident. Inspiration comes directly from his inherent love of the Irish landscape. There is a mixture of media used to compile this exhibition ranging from charcoal drawings, to oil paintings with bold and confident brush strokes, and the most interesting being a collection of encaustic.

Encaustic is a painting technique using heated beeswax that has been used for millennia, from the mummy portraits of Egypt, to the 7th century Blachernitissa and other early icons, as well as the works of 20th-century artists, including Jasper Johns.

Tullio has found his own style with the technique. He has mixed oils and raw pigment with the wax, and has also added gilt which accentuates their high texture and deep translucency. It reacts to the changing light, revealing various aspects of the painting.

Artist’s Statement

There is a waste and lack of balance in the human condition that does not exist in the rest of the natural world. We see harmony when looking at a sunset, the ocean, a tree, or a group of animals in their natural environment. Occasionaly we recognise a moment of harmony within ourselves, but it is a fleeting moment that is gone almost as soon as it is seen. The moment may be fleeting, but to make a monument to it that will last is the reason that art is made. It is creating a monument for humanity, a reminder of what is beautiful about the human condition. Without it humanity can easily be seen as ugly, discordant and entirely separate from the natural world. Without art to remind us of the glimpse of harmony within us all, existence would seem pretty pointless.

March 2008