Riccardo Liotta

riccardo liotta

my name is riccardo liotta. i am an architect and have been practicing in wisconsin and new york city for the past 19 years. for over 15 years i have also been painting and producing artwork.

because of my professional training, my early work was inspired by architecture and, in fact, vaguely represented structures and buildings elements. however, my main inspiration has come from physics and mathematics, fields that fascinate me and that i have studied extensively. these have formed the foundation of my architectural work and projects, and consequently of my artwork. in the past ten years, in fact, my focus has increasingly shifted to artwork less reminiscent of buildings and more of particle physics and quantum mechanics concepts, as well as mathematical and geometrical principles.
by combining these subjects with the theories and techniques of the constructivism, suprematism, futurism, and rayonnism art styles, i developed what i call the “eigencompositions”: analytical, abstract artwork consisting of simplified yet very dynamic geometrical shapes, fields, lines and segments that convey concepts of movement, velocity, decay, fragmentation.
these eigencompositions stem from shapes randomly generated through a systematic geometrical process and symbolize particle trajectories, the fragmentation of nature, as well as the uncertainty and undeterminability of life, to parallel quantum theory principles.

as i further developed my ideas for the eigencompositions in terms of methods and techniques, i also started a new conceptual effort based on the notions of linear algebra, matrices and linear transformations, as an alternative system to generate shapes and whole compositions. the “linear transformation” compositions evolve from the idea of constantly manipulating a shape - by implementing mathematical rules and formulas - almost endlessly, to create a new one. here too, the concepts of movement and velocity are present. and the incessant manipulation and consequent change in shape, along with its repetition, reflect the fragmented, ever-changing, unstable and therefore uncertain characteristics of nature.
the objective of the linear transformations is two-fold: first is to deeply analyze and study the intrinsic correlation between a particular area of mathematics and art, by developing a unique, albeit subjective, technique that would best express this relationship. second, is to analyze the boundaries between objectivity and subjectivity, a fundamental concept of quantum mechanics.

during my development as an artist, i also had many opportunities to learn and experiment with a variety of techniques, methods and tools that allowed me - if not forced me - to generate compositions using new approaches, different from the abovementioned systems, while also diversifying my modus operandi.

the resulting art - derived by applying these new techniques - is therefore less systematic and more intuitive, and it is created by experimenting with figure-ground relationship, proportions, harmony, contrast, overlaps, layers, movement, and by analyzing and altering the behavior of colors, fields, shapes, lines and segments.

the compositions that originate from all these diverse approaches, however, share many common stylistic traits and characteristics, and belong to a style i refer to as "polychromatic fragmentism".

i find acrylic to be the medium that best expresses my ideas and theories. however, i also work with colored pencils and pastels, pen, markers and collage. i also extensively utilize the computer to generate patterns, shapes and compositions, and to alter/enhance paintings and drawings.