Piero Passacantando

she sat by shallow waters

finger stirring thoughts and desires into the flesh

of waves, flesh of men and women and

the memory of their touch on her skin

rendered now spectacular, ephemeral, divine,

as she lays down in the bed of longing, her naked body 

taking on the colors of the rainless clouds,

the red and purple and orange 

of the sun-rays piercing through that body

consumed by desire, turning her gaze

to the bright white moon and, suddenly:

trees turn to jagged lines 

unfinished landscapes crash into one another

mountains loop into a repetition of their form 

shape and structure and function released 

in the release of pleasure

and waves - 

the waves watching her

as they watch all of us in our confusion,

their eyes and tears and body melting into one another

meeting in a gentle embrace

love releasing all of us

until we are no longer afraid

a poem by Francesca Passacantando

I set up two easels facing each other. White painting overalls, 8"x10" canvases and black and white paint are provided. I paint a portrait of the participant while the participant paints a portrait of me. At the end we exchange them. As of now I have about 90 portraits of my self. 

These works are a light hearted exploration of the figure, color and composition. I reference the art historical theme of the bathers highlighting its erotic tones. These paintings hover between figuration and abstraction, and between a flat and a three dimensional space

In these paintings I am currently exploring the edge between representation and abstraction through experiments with composition, color and pattern. These works are process-driven. During the process I enter into an intimate dialogue with the painting: at times I guide the painting; at other times the painting guides me. Through this dialogue I “carve” out forms. I intentionally leave these forms ambiguous, slippery, constantly receding from becoming something specific.

Although I took a formal approach, the RGMBW series is first and foremost an emotional response to moving to New York. It is almost a romantic group of works. Shortly after moving, I got a day job as a software trainer in midtown Manhattan. I had to commute everyday to Grand Central Station, and it was the mass movements of individuals, the flows of people that really inspired the first RGBMW paintings. I used all-over, grid-based patterns opting for a very strict five color scheme that I lifted from a photo in a fashion magazine. I kept the works very neat and task-oriented as a stabilizing, almost spiritual approach. I tried to make them as close to computer-made as I could, in part as a reflection of my observation of the relationship between humans and computers. In this attempt to be computer-like, the most interesting thing is the tension between the perfection/imperfection of the human hand.

This participatory installation was created with a series of sculptural works aesthetically influenced by Arte Povera, minimalist sculpture and Eva Hesse, but made with foods created through a process of "cultural" fermentation. I made goat cheese, fermented ginger beer, and wild sourdough yest bread and offered it to the public.

I created this work in collaboration with my father. I painted an idea of his while he painted an idea of mine. My father had never painted before. We recorded the process on a video and presented our preliminary studies along with wall text and the final paintings.

These works are the outcome of my learning experience with the methodologies and meanings of Thangka painting in Kathmandu, Nepal. To produce them I formed Piero Passacantando Studio with professional Thangka painters Sherab Tamang, Dawa Tamang of Dharmadhatu Foundation (an NGO devoted to using the arts and crafts as a tool for social justice in Nepal) and my wife Clarissa Bynum. These works are not a direct translation of Thangka, but rather a reinterpretation of some of its elements, particularly geometry and color.

I initially painted these small works in a 12cm x 12cm book as a series of preparatory sketches for my Geometric Commons of Imagination project. However as I progressed, they started to make sense as their own separate mini series.

Throughout the years I have been making hundreds of paintings and drawings of the human face in many different styles, some based on real people some completely imaginary. This is a small selection

I was invited to participate to a group show dealing with the conspiracy theory of chemtrail and HAARP. I took a skeptical, ironic but also embracing approach, researching possible remedies to the purported effects of these phenomenons. I identified the Faraday cage, the hat with tin foil and colloidal silver as some of the most effective cures. Why not use these remedies in style? I created a mini lounge/cage and provided Silveritas, margaritas with colloidal silver.

This work was realized in collaboration with artist and designer Alessandro Gorla. The installation used recycled materials and free association, referencing religion. We also included a participatory element where people could share their sadness in the tears of an invisible presence — Jesus? Mary? The participants?

Paintings with my wife Clarissa in various styles.

Works made on commission for various clients

These works where shown near Baltimore Super Max prison and reference the racism of the US prison system and death penalty.