Rocco Cardinale is an artist I’ve been following on instagram who’s work I love and am very much drawn to. He was born in Taranto, an industrial town in the southern Italian peninsula in 1981.

He grew up under the influence of skateboard street culture, local writers, comics and hardcore punk music. He also showed a great interest in contemporary nomadism as a movement and the social conditions of today’s man.
A self-taught artist, he moved to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, in 2007. Here he works daily while exhibiting his art all around the world including:

• MUST, Italy (Lecce, 2014/2015),

• Agora Gallery, USA(NYC, 2015/2016),

• CAAM, Spain( Las Palmas G.C., 2017),

• Artmoney Gallery, in Denmark (Copenhagen, 2018).

YOUR GREATEST INSPIRATIONS

Modern society inspires me every day. I take my ideas from a simple walk around the cities I visit and I am inspired by so many things out there. My main influences are graffiti, skate art and street culture in general. As well as icons of contemporary art like Haring, Basquiat and many more.

MOST INTERESTING RESPONSE TO YOUR ARTWORK YOU'VE HEARD SO FAR

"Rocco Cardinale creates emotive, gritty, and honest portraits of mankind. He evokes a sense of primitivism that speaks to the universality of the human experience."

This was a good one. From "Agora Gallery", NYC, USA.

CHALLENGES OF THE ART INDUSTRY

No comment (laughs)

FAVORITE WEBSITES

I like to explore the Internet cause there are so many things going on every second. Art and photography websites as well as music and design ones. Instagram, and sometimes Facebook, to take a quick look at the news and make contacts.

UPCOMING SHOWS OR PROJECTS?

Soon I will showing a 25 canvas collection at the CAP Museum, Centro de Artes Plásticas in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Also always looking for some collaborations with galleries and art co-working/factories.