There are artists, there are cool people, and there are nice guys; and while the three tend to overlap they are not known for being mutually exclusive.  However, if you were to draw a Venn diagram with “artists” and “cool people” and “nice guys” as the finite sets, where the three sets overlap you'd find a shaggy-haired Todd DiCiurcio happily sketching away, most likely illustrating one of the incredible bands who he captures on paper and canvas.

Something in the way that Todd’s pieces are created during one session, evoking a sort of calligraphy wherein he utilizes a single continuous line that evolves into the entire work, DiCiurcio’s drawings and paintings are never contrived.  Rather, their spontaneity channels the vibes given-off at that moment, by the musicians he’s observing.  Ergo, a bouncy ska set by The English Beat will take on a far different mood than will the classic rock rhythms of The Rolling Stones, the urgent emoting of Kings of Leon, the art-house folk rock sounds of Cat Power, or the new wave synths of New Order – all of whom have collaborated with DiCiurcio over the past decade.

For the past three weeks, Todd DiCiurcio set-up shop in the P3Studio at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, as the artist-in-residence, via New York’s Art Production Fund.  Transforming P3 into a music space as much as an artist’s studio, various groups and musicians came by and played while Todd let the muse take him – and take him it did.  From bouncy funk to honky-tonk to rock, they all came and jammed while Todd alternated between sitting-in as drummer to painting like a dervish.

All the while, passers-by were intrigued and would come in, groove to the tunes, and observe DiCiurcio at work.  Then they would get a chance to speak, one-on-one with Todd (and any of the numerous musicians who stopped by) as the pieces were put on display upon their completion; alongside diamond-dust covered canvases, upon which the silhouette of an ornate chandelier had been stenciled.

It’s this immediacy that DiCiurcio's works impart; allowing the viewer to enjoy a moment in time – almost like a living portrait.  And while the majority of his pieces are line-drawings in black-and-white, it’s a testament to the power that seemingly radiates from them, that they evoke a rhythm, an almost subliminal soundtrack, transporting the viewer to that moment in music from which they were conceived.

Todd DiCiurcio
Draw Us Sin
Click HERE for info

 Get into it!

Related Articles:
The world’s greatest hip-hop collective returns this weekend with the second edition of the history-making WU-TANG CLAN: THE SAGA CONTINUES… THE LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY