New York artist Carmen Cicero’s paintings are filled with mystery, satire and edgy images of life. He combines pointed candor with comic apparitions that reflect his reverence for life’s veracities and vagaries, and the humor he finds in our lives.
Cicero’s art has been on the cutting edge for more than 50 years. The artist has worked in three basic painting modes: Abstract Expressionism, Figurative Expressionism, and “visionary.” The artist’s use of humor with frankness is coupled with his search for deeper meaning. His tone and spirit produce eerie quietude and stinging bluntness but also create mystery and curiosity for an explanation for these unusual and strange happenings.
A native of New Jersey, Cicero holds a BA from Newark State Teachers College and an MFA from Montclair State. Cicero taught at Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York, for nine years and later at Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, New Jersey, for 31 years. He lives in New York City and Truro on Cape Cod. He is also an accomplished jazz musician.
Cicero received Lifetime Achievement awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (2016), Provincetown Art Association and Museum (2012) and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation (2007).
