"I believe truly great art serves as a trigger into something deeper within all of us"
Joseph Lorusso was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1966 and received his formal training at the American Academy of Art. He went on to receive his B.F.A. degree from the Kansas City Art Institute. Born of Italian descent, Lorusso was exposed to art at an early age. Through several early trips to Italy, his parents introduced him to the works of the Italian Masters. Lorusso would look to these influences throughout his early artistic development and they are still evident in his work today.
Discovering the works of the Impressionists, he gravitated towards the works of Manet and Vuillard. Lorusso searched for similar work of such emotion and soon became an avid student of painting, seeking out and immersing himself in the works of various artists. This path would ultimately lead him to the works of Sargent, Sorolla and Whistler.
Creating landscapes and figurative works, Lorusso's most recent paintings are composed of warm, often dreamlike scenarios. Subjects and places of restful escape with a sense of spirituality which share a timelessness with the works of other eras.
