I have a dream. I have a dream that one day I will awake from my bed and spend the 8-9 hours I spend in a stagnant cube actually doing something I love. This is of course my dream. For JM Rizzi it is a dream no longer. JM Rizzi is a personal hero of mine. He may not know it but he is. This was a guy who had a secure job. He was comfortable enough in it, he neither loved it or hated it. It just was, for him. Until one day he followed his passion of being an artist and made a decision which would change his life. Not many people have the balls to do this. We live in fear. We fear uncertainty and it's sad because we lose ourself to the system. Rizzi chose to defy it and he is being quite successful at it. He was commissioned to do murals and the outdoor lounge area of a new boutique hotel in Manhattan, The Pod Hotel. His art is urban, abstract, and lively. It is modern and refreshing to look at. I love his shapes and that you see New York in his artwork. JM Rizzi is a true artist who has the heart of New York on his sleeve. When you speak to him about art his face lights up and he's genuinely passionate about it. We should be so lucky to have the same balls out attitude that Rizzi has and make a go of the things we love to do.
Are you aware that there is another James Rizzi from Brooklyn who is also an artist?
I AM. HE’S BEEN THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE. WHEN I WAS ATTENDING SVA MY PARENTS WOULD GET PHONE CALLS FROM FRIENDS SAYING THAT THEY SAW MY WORK HERE AND THERE. IT BECAME A JOKE. WHEN I LIVED IN SOHO I WOULD GO OVER TO HIS GALLERY ON SPRING STREET AND TRY AND MEET HIM BUT NEVER DID. USUALLY JUST ENDED UP HARRASSING THE SECURITY GUARD AND TELLING PEOPLE IN THE GALLERY THAT I WAS JAMES RIZZI. HIS WORK TO ME IS VERY UNINTERESTING AND REPETIVE, ITS LIKE TOURIST ART, WHICH IS A REAL SHAME. IF HE MADE GOOD ART I WOULDN’T MIND BEING ASSOCIATED WITH HIM. THAT’S WHY I SHOW UNDER THE NAME JM RIZZI. Tell me about this new project you are working on.
CURRENTLY I’VE BEEN PAINTING MURALS FOR A NEW HOTEL IN MANHATTAN CALLED THE “POD HOTEL”. I’VE PAINTED 3 FOR THEIR LOBBY AND 1 ON AN EXTERIOR WALL IN THEIR BACKYARD THAT IS 40 FEET HIGH BY 26 FEET ACROSS. SCAFFOLD AND HARNESS. IT WAS AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE. IT SETS THE BACKDROP FOR AN OUTSIDE LOUNGE.
How did you begin your relationship with art and how did you develop your style?
IT BEGAN LIKE MOST KIDS THAT ARE INTERESTED IN ART, I STARTED COPYING COMIC BOOKS IN THE
SECOND GRADE AND I’VE BEEN DRAWING AND PAINTING EVER SINCE. MY STYLE CAME ABOUT FROM A FEW DIFFERENT INFLUENCES. I STARTED WRITING GRAFFITI WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL. I WAS JUST OBSESSED WITH WHAT KIDS WERE DOING ALONG THE HIGHWAYS OF STATEN ISLAND AND BROOKLYN. I GOT INTO IT PRETTY HEAVY BUT NEVER BOMBED HARD. I MOSTLY DID PIECES IN BOOKS AND ON WALLS IN ABANDONED FACTORIES. I LIKED THE ABILITY TO SPEND A FEW DAYS ON A PIECE. FROM THERE I GOT INSPIRED BY THE PAINTINGS OF FRANZ KLINE AND THE ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISTS. I TOOK THE SMOOTH FLOWING LINES OF GRAFFITI WITH THE PHILOSOPHIES OF ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM AND JUST STARTED MAKING BIG PAINTINGS. EVOLVING THE TOOLS AND DISCIPLINES OF WHAT I THINK IS THE MOST PROFOUND ART MOVEMENT TO EMERGE FROM THE URBAN LANDSCAPE WITH THE GREATEST AND FIRST ART MOVEMENT OF AMERICAN SOCIETY. FROM THERE I GOT REALLY CLEAN AND PAINTINGS THAT BEGAN TO LOOK MORE POP.
You like to use a lot of pattern and color in your work...it's almost grafittiesque....was this intentional?
YES.
What are you most driven by? Do you feel being a part of NYC influences your art in other ways that it doesn't in other areas? If so, how?
I’M MOST DRIVEN BY THE IDEA OF MAKING BIG PAINTINGS. BIGGER THAN I’VE BEEN ABLE TO. UNFORTUNATELY ITS HARD TO DO IN NYC. SPACE IS TOO EXPENSIVE. BUT I’M WORKING ON IT. I LOVE LIVING IN NYC. STEP OUT YOUR DOOR AND ITS ALL THERE. THE ENERGY IS LIKE AN ADDICTION. I CAN’T REALLY GET BY ANYWHERE ELSE. I’VE TRIED, IT WAS BAD.
Do you know how your art makes other people feel? Do you think about this ever?
MOST PEOPLE TELL ME THAT THEY SEE FACES IN MY WORK. I AGREE WITH THAT. I SOMETIMES DO PORTRAITS. BUT I TRY NOT TO LET THAT INFLUENCE ME. I REBEL AGAINST MYSELF. IF SOMETHING COMES EASY THAN I THINK I’M NOT TRYING HARD ENOUGH. THIS IS STARTING TO CHANGE, THOUGH. I’M BEGINNING TO FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH WHAT COMES NATURAL. ITS AN EVOLUTION. BUT HOW IT MAKES PEOPLE FEEL I DON’T REALLY KNOW. I ONLY KNOW HOW IT MAKES ME FEEL.
Do you enjoy painting or doing illustrations?
I ENJOY BOTH. PAINTING AFFORDS MUCH MORE FREEDOM. I DO ILLUSTRATIONS TO SORT OF KEEP MY SKILLS UP WITH WHAT I SEE OTHERS DOING AROUND ME. I GUESS IT BALANCES ME. MAKING ABSTRACT ART CAN GET VERY DISSILLUSIONING.
What do you dislike most about the art world? What do you find is the hardest in becoming a successful artist?
WHAT I DISLIKE MOST ABOUT THE “ART WORLD” IS THE FALSE SENSE OF IMPORTANCE THAT PEOPLE PUT ON MOST ART AND THE SORT OF SARCASTIC SELF-LOATHING IT GENERATES. GRANTED, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO MAKE WORK THAT I THINK IS GREAT AND WORTH IT, BUT JUST A FEW. THE REST GET BY ON WHO PROMOTES THEM. I THINK THAT MOST PEOPLE FEEL THE ART WORLD IS POMPOUS AND EXCLUSIONISTIC. AND I DON’T DISAGREE. YOU CAN WALK AROUND CHELSEA AND WONDER WHAT 
SECRET DIALOGUE EXISTS TO MAKE THE ART HANGING THERE WORTH THE MONEY. ITS MORE IMPORTANT FOR ME TO MAKE GOOD WORK, FIRST AND FOREMOST. TO BE HUMAN. I THINK THERE IS GREAT CONFLICT WITH THE “ART WORLD”. MOST PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF IT HAVE NEGATIVE FEELINGS, MYSELF INCLUDED. BUT EVERY ARTIST WANTS TO BE EMBRACED BY IT. IF YOU DON’T KNOW IT EXISTS THAN IT DOESN’T MATTER. WE MAKE OUR OWN WORLDS, THAT’S THE ROLE OF THE ARTIST.
Where do you see your art in five years?
I DON’T REALLY KNOW. I’M SURE I WILL CONTINUE WITH THE STYLE I’VE BEEN DEVELOPING. INCORPORATING REPRESENTATIONAL WITH ABSTRACT. I’VE BEEN DOING SOME DECONSTRUCTING IN MY LATEST PAINTINGS. I CAN SEE MYSELF BECOMING A REAL MINIMALIST ONE DAY.
Favorite scene from a movie?
THE FINAL SCENE FROM “SMOKE”, WHEN HARVEY KEITEL TELLS HIS CHRISTMAS STORY TO WILLIAM HURT.
For more information on JM Rizzi and his art, visit his blog, his site, or drop him a hello on his MySpace.
B
ACK TO ART