Featured Artist - Frank Fontsere CROZIER COLLECTIVE GALLERY

Frank Fontsere’s life as an artist began by drawing pictures of his favorite rock stars. “I was fascinated by musical artists from an early age. Not simply the music but the strong visual and aesthetic elements of Rock and Roll in particular”. From first seeing the Beatles album cover photos amidst his mother’s record collection as a young boy to being mesmerized by Kiss through an early television appearance in his adolescence, the colorful spectacle of Rock was a strong artistic influence. “I used to cover my school notebooks with pen drawings of Kiss when I should have been studying”. Frank was not only gripped by the visual appeal of the performers but the bands logos as well. “I used to make up band names and draw what I thought would be cool logos for them. I actually ended up designing the logo for my first band. The band ended up going nowhere but the logo rocked!” Drawing pictures of rockstars gave way to trying to become one. Picking up his first pair of drumsticks at the age of ten began an odyssey that would eventually lead to his becoming a touring and recording rock drummer. For 26 years Frank played on stages in every state of the U.S. as well as many treks to Europe Canada and Australia.

Although his artistic journey was primarily a (loud) sonic one; the lure of creating visually always lurked in his subconscious. “I always fantasized about creating large abstract works. While working a side job in construction I used to go to Home Depot with my boss to buy building supplies and would see materials and implements related to building and wonder how they could possibly be used in the creation of art. I often told my wife that I would love to have a huge open space in our eventual home (we lived in an apartment) where I could lay out large canvases and splash them with paint in the tradition of 20th century expressionists like Pollock.” An idea to create abstract works on used drum heads and cymbals led to Frank finally actualizing these long unrealized musings. “I finally went to the store and purchased some craft paint. I though I could paint some old drum heads and sell them to fans while alternatively scratching this “itch” that I thought was just a day dream. I was hooked immediately. The first time I had something I thought was good enough to consider “finished” was one of the most satisfying moments of my life. It was electrifying, I knew that I was participating in something larger than myself”. The world of art is large and intimidating to someone just discovering their place in it. This was true for Frank as well.

Using social media to discover and draw inspiration from the works of other creators was as daunting as it was thrilling. According to Frank; “I wanted to explore everything. Going to an art supply store was tremendously exciting as well as frustrating. I wanted to develop my visual voice but there are so many avenues to pursue. So many styles and materials and techniques; it was overwhelming, not to mention EXPENSIVE” he laughs. The breakthrough came when he found hard-edge geometric painting. “It might be linked to my teen-aged fascination with band logos but there is something appealing to me about simple geometric forms. They are like a visual language. A square is a square but there is infinite variation possible in the creation of the form. Differences in size and color or dimension. Variances of hue. You could literally spend the entirety of your life painting a square over and over again and they would each be unique in some way.

With the notion in mind of exploring potentially infinite variation within simple forms Frank began his first series of canvases appropriately titled “Parameters pt.1”. From the website FrankFontsereart.com: “It has been said that in Chess you can do anything – except – break the rules and still be playing Chess. Within the bounds of the rules of Chess there is almost infinite possibility. I am fascinated by the concept of limitless variation within a strictly defined landscape. The Parameters series is an exploration of what is possible within a specific set of strictures. In the case of this series; the strictures of a severely delineated color palette and tightly executed geometric patterns. In addition; each piece is designated only by a numerical value. Welcome to “Parameters” – Pt. 1 Since creating his first series Frank has opened his exploration to include “Parameters pt. 2” which is done on paper as opposed to canvas. Now with more confidence that he is in touch with his creative voice Frank has begun expanding his range of colors and forms.” Frank is one of the artists whose work is on display at the NEW Crozier Collective Gallery located at 46 Doyle Street in Toccoa, Georgia. Visit www.croziercollective.com for more information.