Lazarus Nazario - Cop-Out

Lazarus Nazario

I was born and raised in Staten Island, NY. What you’d call a Nuyorican; second generation Puerto Rican born in NYC. Growing up in the forgotten borough made it tough to fit in and I experienced racism at an early age...not being born in PuertoRico meant I wasn’t a native either...so it gives me a unique perspective. A duality I began to call Birth of a Nuyorican: All the stigma with none of the romance! I explore this duality in my work. I create Underground Black Market Devotional Propaganda: Sociopolitical art using pop surrealism and magical realism. Painting is much more to me than making pictures. If fills a deep need in me to express myself in a way that I haven’t been able to find otherwise. Icons for the Twenty first Century Anyone and anything can be an icon if it's loved on long enough. An image that sticks with you, crawls around, finds your sweet spot and makes you pray you feel it too. My work allows me to exalt the ordinary with as much raw energy as I can muster...and I can muster with the best of 'em! Being a traveling creative soul has put me in lots of beautiful places...for reals and in my mind. I'm featured in collections across the United States including former President of NY SEIU Dennis Rivera, and Light Show and Installation Artist Joshua White, with whom I've been fortunate enough to collaborate. I received scholarships to attend the National Academy of Design School of Fine Arts where I studied under Sharon Sprung ( who completely changed my life with her wisdom and expertise!). I studied at the Art Student's League and The School of Visual Arts, NYC. I've taught at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Wagner college in New York. I'm a citizen of the world and make my home where the wind blows...though you can probably catch me livin' and workin' in NYC.