Welcome Marco About!

Marco About will take part ot the Urban Superstar Show 2010.

Marco About partecipa all'Urban Superstar Show 2010.

Well, to begin with, Marco was born in Rome in 1977. Drawing has been his passion since he was a child. He graduated from Art High School with a specialization in Artistic Photography. He spent the next few years working and opened a graphic studio with some friends. A few years later, unwillingly, he left it. His freelance graphic designer career started and he began working on the Roman hardcore-punk scene, creating posters, and designing graphics for CD covers and bands’ t-shirts. He’s happy to say he’s still working on that: an on-going passion. Between 2003 and 2004 he held exhibitions of his work in clubs, squats and minor galleries. Some of them: Crack, comix and independent publishing festival in Rome, tattoo conventions and various solo and collective exhibitions. By 2005 he concentrated on exhibitions, both in Italy and abroad (he was hosted at the True Hate Art Gallery in La Rochelle, France) and participated in touring art shows like Vinyl factory, Children no more, Whaleless and Stick my world. Now he collaborates with Mondopop International Gallery of Rome, where in 2009 he co-prepared Una Mostra per l'Abruzzo, a collective exhibition for charity, where 23 artists chosen by Marco and Mondopop worked to raise funds for people that lost their homes in the earthquake that hit the Abruzzi region in Italy in April of the same year. Marco works in various media, including graphics and illustration but his never-ending love is painting on wood. Sometimes he also enjoys using his computer, but he’s not mad about technology. He appreciates working on and with waste products and material: sometimes he finds them by chance and other times he searches painstakingly for them. He paints to satisfy himself but he wants to be always only “almost satisfied” so he keeps on going. He doesn’t want to be repetitive in his work as he doesn’t like repetitiveness. He doesn’t wish to earn a living solely through and with his art, because he thinks that it is inevitable that everyone ends up hating their job and he would be very sad if he ended up hating his own creations. So he works in a screen-printing laboratory, he plays with his band and in the duo pasta&patate (ukuleles rule!), he rides his bike, he eats too much and sleeps a lot.

Marco nasce a Roma nel 1977 e fin dalla tenera età mostra una spontanea propensione verso il disegno. Frequenta l' istituto D'Arte, si diploma in Fotografia Artistica e, dopo anni di lavori vari, fonda insieme ad alcuni amici un piccolo studio di grafica che abbandona a malincuore dopo qualche anno. Continua come grafico free lance e contemporaneamente dedica il suo tempo alla "scena punk-hardcore" della propria città, contribuendo con locandine, manifesti, grafiche per CD e t-shirt di band, attività che svolge anche oggi con molto piacere. Negli anni 2003/2004 partecipa per la prima volta a diverse esposizioni presso locali, centri sociali e piccole gallerie (tra cui Crack, festival di fumetti ed editoria indipendente, varie Tattoo Convention e altre collettive e personali). Da lì in poi la sua attività si intensifica, viene invitato a esporre in diversi spazi in Italia e all'estero (tra cui True Hate Art Gallery in Francia) e i suoi lavori cominciano a girare grazie a mostre itineranti tutt' ora in viaggio come Vynil factory, Children no more, whaleless e stick my world. Collabora abitualmente con la "Mondopop International Gallery" con cui nel 2009 organizza "Una Mostra per l'Abruzzo", una collettiva benefica di 23 artisti con lo scopo di ricavare fondi per le terre colpite dal sisma. Spazia dalla grafica all' illustrazione e predilige la pittura su legno. Non disdegna l' uso del computer, che però usa con moderazione. Ama dare nuova vita a materiali di scarto, trovati per caso o cercati scrupolosamente. L'obbiettivo di ogni creazione è la propria soddisfazione visiva, un traguardo al quale però non vuole mai arrivare. Cerca di scappare di continuo dalla ripetitività nella quale spesso si rischia di finire. Spera di non vivere mai solo della propria arte perché teme di arrivare ad odiarla, come si finisce per odiare qualsiasi impiego. Perciò lavora in una serigrafia, suona con il suo gruppo e con il duo pasta&patate (ukuele rules!), va in bici, mangia e dorme tanto.

Painting Courtesy © Marco About