FILIPPO IOCO
Fine Artist in the language the Soul Speaks.
It isn’t always clear what purpose challenges in life play. So it must have seemed for a young Italian school boy challenged by his inability to use language to communicate with his North American surroundings. Decades later that boy is Filippo Ioco, one of the most talented artists communicating to people around the world with the language of color. For all the people who have been spoken to by his art, that challenge was the catalyst of creation that has been returned in worth a hundredfold. His paintings are now requested internationally and speak to thousands…
After exploring various traditions of expressive art, Filippo discovered his personal style of painting when he created ‘movement of color’. This is a distinctive style of painting that is made up of large sections of carefully chosen expressive colors that relate directly to an emotional state. The colors are composed in block fields or splashed spontaneously together. The final compositions hold a delicate balance between light, weight, color and movement.
‘Color is such a basic and constant element in our world that we sometimes forget its depth, as if we lived in black and white. Stop for a moment and look around you. Look at the myriad of colors that surround you. Rarely does one stop to examine one particular color or colors in all their infinite qualities, and experience color as an entity.’
In most psychology and spiritual philosophy, color is recognised as having a direct relation to the human experience of emotion. In the every day visual world that people live in color can be easily overlooked. Filippo carefully selects colors that relate to a particular emotional experience and by presenting them in large fields, expresses his emotional state.
‘If you gave your imagination complete freedom to explore color, you could lose yourself in all of its possibilities.’
The effect on the viewer is powerful. When standing directly in front of a painting by Filippo Ioco the viewer is overwhelmed by the emotional state created by the work. His paintings should be viewed closely, filling the whole field of vision. The intense red and peach colors of ‘punch bowl’ draw the viewer into a mulled wine slumber or romantic passion. The vibrant blue and greens with splashes of yellow in ‘spring falls’ can awaken the fresh feelings of early rain on new grass. The moody terracotta disturbed by a shot of blue and orange in ‘starburst’ are like an awakening from contemplation that has lasted too long.
One of the most powerful aspects of Filippo’s work is its ability to speak without imagery. The intense journey of the artist and his passion for living a positive and brilliant life are reflected in the energy of his paintings. This energy can be transmitted without words, without sound or pictures. In this way Filippo has had an effect on people around the world, communicating with the language of their souls.
