Tony Orrico: Symmetry in Motion

Sarah Brooks ( Bio  /   Posts )  |  Thursday, February 16, 2012 UTC


Tony Orrico utilizes patterned physical movement and graphite mark-making on paper to create bilateral drawings that leave a powerful record of his process. He is equal parts dancer, choreographer and visual artist; and there is a hypnotic quality to the repetitive motions, intense focus, and physical endurance required to create his drawing performances that can last up to seven hours.

He shared his artistic journey with the PopTech 2011 audience, including the important early influence of his grandfather, a painter, as he began his exploration of visual art and contour through dance and choreography that have culminated in his Penwald drawing series. The video shows Tony performing one of those pieces at PopTech 2011.
 
Recently, Orrico, who’s been drawing primarily with graphite, has been pondering a key question that will inform his next two shows; “I'm thinking, what is this medium? I have a medium of graphite and a medium of my body and what do they have in common? I've been thinking about carbon and how it's the basic unit of all things, if not what we turn into.”

Orrico has one upcoming show in Mexico City from April 18-22 at Polyform Sequieros in conjunction with Mexico Arte Contemporaneo (International Art Fair).  He has another show going up at the J. Johnson Gallery in Jacksonville, Florida on April 13th. 

After spending over a decade in New York, Tony recently left the city and moved to Iowa, where his wife is in graduate school. Though he’s there to support her, he is also finding inspiration in the environment. “It’s been lots of open mind space and literal space to nourish this inspiration. I'm close to old friends and I'm close to family. So, I’m in a place of homecoming and creating space. Living off of fewer resources and spending a lot of time alone, which is good for me.”

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