The line between colors and chaos is thin. In a painting if you add more color, the other colors can get muddy, clash, and the focus can be lost. Entering Joe Ferriso’s studio, you get walk that thin line with the lightness and joy that his art pieces embody. Each piece is a stand alone study in color that is only enhanced in context with Ferriso’s other work. His studio walls are all white. He has also placed a white foil on his windows to diffuse the sunlight making a soft delicate ambiance. With the canvas like feel of the windows and walls, the harmonious relationships of his works are foregrounded.
Color is a muse of Ferriso’s everyday life. His clothes embody color theory. Following analogous color patterns, he pairs a reddish blue button down with a bluish green hat. Recently, he found the perfect paint color to match his skin.
“It is toasted pecan,” he said.
There is a playfulness to his form that is harmonious with the color in his work.
“You get a coloring book and people look at color as something you add on after you have a form. Color itself could be a subject in it of itself. The key is to find a form that allows it to come forward before the shape or the concept,” he said.
Ferriso’s chosen forms invite you to see color with a sense of levity. His work will be shown at the Stanford Art Gallery until June 17.
