MICHAEL MASSARO
Lives and works in United States of America
Biography
Michael Massaro is an award-winning Tampa Bay artist whose work in sculpture, painting, and printmaking is well-regarded throughout the region.
Regularly exhibits at C. Emerson Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Art 5 Gallery in Tampa, the West Tampa Center for the Arts, and The University of Tampa’s Scarfone/Hartley Gallery. His work has appeared in numerous festivals including the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, the One Exhibition at Tampa’s Museum of Science and Industry, the All Florida Fine Arts Juried Exhibition, and the Las Damas Invitational Exhibition.
Michael’s expertise and experience in design, fabrication, and presentation of art is highly valued in the arts community as witnessed by his work with such acclaimed artists as Sam Gilliam, Joyce Scott, Miriam Shapiro, Ed Paschke, and Audrey Flack at Tampa’s renowned printmaking lab STUDIO F.
Michael generously shares his talents with students as an arts advocate and educator. He is the Director of Gallery 501 at Howard W. Blake School of the Arts in Tampa, Studio Assistant and Foundry Coordinator at The University of Tampa, and co-printer for visiting artists at Studio F.
Artist statement
Michael Massaro’s recent work is a social commentary concerning the inhumanity people are willing to inflict upon others. There is a rampant violence and exploitation in our world that infects every culture on earth. Violence seems to be a language everyone speaks and atrocities a thing people are willing to ignore. Researching or being exposed to these acts served as a point of departure for much of his work.
Massaro has always had an intense interest in the connectivity of materials and a natural curiosity of how things fit together. Having a fundamental belief that all things are connected in some way has spurred him to experiment, combining materials to create harmony or discord. Each material has its own unique qualities and its own limitations. Experimenting with these traits often lead to unexpected changes. His tendency is to do something to a work, live with it, sharing its space while working on something else. Massaro frequently manipulates a piece to a satisfactory end and sets it aside for a time when inspiration and the environment surrounding the piece allows him to make changes and improvements. As the piece changes and evolves, so does he.
www.mmassaro.com