Artist Statement
Creativity has been a lifelong practice. I was drawing pictures with recognizable subjects as a young child before I could write my name.
I moved from the Hudson Valley to New York City to attend art school at 18, which profoundly transformed me. I established myself as an award-winning New York graphic designer and stayed for over 30 years. My journey led me to become part of the LGBTQ+ community once I discovered my true self as a queer man. I reestablished roots in the Hudson Valley after returning part-time in 2014 and permanently in 2021.
My renewed interest in making art as an adult made me aware that being creative has always been an essential tool for healing and coping with trauma and emotional stress.
I feel connected to nature and the environment, and their ability to adapt and overcome inspires me. These experiences are present in my prints and paintings.
My work incorporates elements seen in spiritualist art: circles, swirls, and nature. They represent emotions, change, and connection. Instead of discarding items, I reuse them to create textures and shapes.
Letting go of a specific idea and letting the process become almost meditative brings the best results for me. This tactic is the opposite of my graphic design practice, but there are influences from that realm. The typographic forms I work with as a publication designer influence the shapes and compositions in my work. Color, pattern, and texture are among my favorites to explore and incorporate in both disciplines.
Bio
Joseph Caserto is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist, graphic designer, and educator based in the Hudson Valley after relocating from New York City in 2021.
Joseph earned a BFA with honors in Graphic Design from Pratt Institute, where he completed one of the first classes that covered the Mac as a design tool and artistic medium. He studies printmaking at the Woodstock School of Art.
Joseph’s works explore textures and shapes inspired by typographic and natural forms through various methods, including monotype, relief, and collagraph.
His digital art honors LGBTQ+ themes and celebrates the Hudson Valley.
Joseph is an adjunct professor at Pace University and SUNY New Paltz. He has also taught at The City College of New York and NYU.