“The Great White Hunt”
by Victor Grasso
Artist Statement
In “The Great White Hunt”, a new exhibition for SOMA NewArt Gallery, Victor
Grasso will present new works from his “Tooth and Nail” series, as well as his new ink drawings, “The Way the Sea Was” and “Whiskey Ted”.
In the “Tooth and Nail” series, Grasso dives into the wild world of animal iconography, utilizing animal claws and teeth to create savagely beautiful spiral patterns. The teeth and nails are cast from resin from the actual bone due to their endangered or protected status. The works evoke a quandary: Who’s hunting who.
While the “Tooth and Nail” pieces rely on assemblage and symmetrical order in their composition, pointillism is the feature of the ink drawings. Surgically executed in night black ink, these epic renderings further Grasso’s exploration of multiple craft and medium, exposing his dark humor.
Grasso’s mastery of blending genre and medium has culminated in a conceptual take on hunting and conservation, mixing Victorian fascinations with a Native American design element and a maritime antiquity.