CREATIVE CHEF'S ORIGINAL ART

Larry Catanzaro was born in 1962 and raised in Baltimore, Maryland where he attended the Maryland Institute College of Art earning credits in painting and printmaking. In 1983 he moved to New York City and continued his art education at The Art Students’ League. He has had numerous shows in New York and in the West Indies and currently lives in Manhattan.

In addition to his artistic creativeness, Larry further expresses his talents as a Personal Chef and Culinary Educator.  He is  an extremely talented artist on canvas, as well as in the kitchen.  He has cooked for the rich and famous of New York as well as lending his culinary expertise to many of New York's finest catering businesses.

A Primitive Expressionism is the style of other works by Larry Catanzaro. They are vibrant textural paintings exploring the relationship of multicultural icons and images present in religious and mystical themes. The artist explains his creative process as purely an "automatic stream of consciousness." Although when reflecting on these images, he attributes his inspiration to the religious icons and allegorical symbols that were around him growing up in a Catholic environment. His exposure to various cultures as he has traveled around the world has also added to his inspiration. The content of this work primarily focuses on a central theme: the primal, basic characteristics of the natural environment, interjected with images of spiritual and mystic qualities. This balance has always been obvious in the history of narrative art.  These images are personal to the artist and meaningful to the viewers only if they allow themselves to make their own interpretation.

To view more of the art, click here.