By Madison Duddy By Madison Duddy | January 19, 2023 | People, Feature, Art,
You can’t miss this local artist’s murals splattered across Boston and beyond.
Between grabbing cocktails at Mariel, brunch at The Gallows or a room at W Hotel, Boston, there’s one detail in common—the vibrant and eye-catching works of Markus Sebastiano (markussebastiano.com). Originally from Methuen, the visual artist combines print, collage, spray and acrylic paint, transparencies, photography, digital art and epoxy resin to create graffiti-esque, mixed media, “vintage contemporary” murals. Now, 21 years later, he’s had pieces featured on HGTV’s Lil Jon Wants to Do What?, was creative director on Netflix’s BLUNT and has a solo show this January at Lowell’s Curation 250. Here, Sebastiano talks about his beginnings in the industry and what’s up next.
Did you always want to be an artist?
I have always been into art. Mostly drawing as a young kid, which evolved into working with pastels and paint. My father is a master sheet metal fabricator, so I learned to weld and work with metal around the age of 12. I found myself really attracted to organic textures, rusted metal and the idea that you could pretty much build or make anything with your hands from a sketch and a plan.
Did you go to school for art? Funny enough, I applied and got rejected from the art department at UMASS Amherst my freshman year of college… I transferred to UMASS Lowell after a short stint at Amherst and was accepted into their small art and design program. There, I fell in love with photography and all things Photoshop related. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was establishing the foundation I still use to create digital art today.
How long have you been professionally pursuing art? I didn’t really start painting and developing my current style until about 2012. At the time, my business partnership collapsed in another apparel venture, so I decided it was time to do what I was truly passionate about. I began experimenting with vintage paper and collage, and started incorporating acrylic and spray paint and then added this digital art element with translucent vinyl on plexiglass. The original work took on a life of its own as it appeared to have a 3D element to it.
What do you love most about being an artist? I love the freedom of being able to express myself and give something unique to the world. The process is something that I truly enjoy being immersed in—being in flow with your work, your tools and your space. There is nothing like it in the world. Time disappears, anxiety fades, and the rest is up to God I guess.
What do you hope for the future of your career? I hope to keep building an international collector base and doing what I love most every day. I intend to keep pushing the boundaries as an artist and experiencing as much life as possible, till the wheels fall off…
Photography by: JOHN MCCARTHY