Justin Cipa

“I have been fascinated with, and have been making art for as long as I can remember. What used to be stringent, detailed drawings -for the first thirty years of my life- has been freed into sloppy, mutant distillations of my racing mind.

The evolution of my style was partially born from finally having sympathy for the strained muscles in my hand; moving the action into the greater part of the arm. This allowed me to more wrecklessly and more comfortably apply (or reduce) a stroke. My current process is also the result of learning to create a dialogue between me, my tools and mediums, and time. Sometimes these conversations are long and argumentative and sometimes they are short and funny. Basically, every now and then I look down, my hands are a mess, and I feel pretty fulfilled.

Day-to-day I am interested in dynamics and nuances of all things: The imperfections on a flat surface, complex minimalism, and other paradoxes. Mentally cataloging these experiences and wonderment allows me to later hide the clues to these ideas in my artwork for the observer to discover for themselves. Also, a little humor doesn’t hurt.”

Justin Cipa was born in 1980 near Pittsburgh, PA. He has lived in Philadelphia, PA since 1999 and continues to do graphic design and illustration as well as painting and sculpture.