Interview with D. Dominick Lombardi

q) Well, first of all please tell us a little about yourself.

a) I am an artist all my life. I have written over 300 reviews of exhibitions over the last twelve years, and I have curated exhibitions since 1978. Right now, to support my art making, I work about half the year with the scenic artists for the television show Law & Order (Special Victims Unit). I am married to Diane, and I have one child, Lora.

q) Had you always planned on being an artist [or had you other hopes]?

a) The first time I saw Picasso's Guernica I was hooked. I was about three years old, and a picture of that painting was published in the new encyclopedia set my parents bought for my brother and I in 1957. Since then, I've wanted to make a painting that was as meaningful as that.

q) Do you have a preferred medium to work on? Why?

a) I work in all media and fields, it just depends on what I am looking for and maybe how big something will be or how long I want it to take.

q) How would you describe your style?

a) Post Apocalyptic Tattoo - a mix of tattoo, graffiti, comic book, a lot of low brow art influence. Line comes first and is now emphasized as a prime element.

q) Do you go through any certain processes while trying to produce your
work?

a) Not really - I hit the studio running. Sometimes I work best with my pants off.

q) What are you working on at present?

a)Two things. I am working on a big, freestanding sculpture that turns a pile of junk into one of my characters Beachcomber. I am also working on a painting that will have a yellow ochre Graffoo instead of a black one. A Graffoo is a mixture of tattoo and graffiti.

q) What about recent sources of inspirations?

a) I am inspired by the youthful esthetic that surrounds me, and the concern I have for us as human beings. How we are guinea pigs that eat what big businesses want us to eat, and breath and drink what they want us to inhale and drink.

q) What are some of your obsessions?

a) Time consuming techniques - things that are slow and difficult. I even like repetition within the creative process, if that makes any sense. It's the rhythm of expression, I guess you could call it.

q) Which galleries have you shown at and which galleries would you like to
show at?

a) I've shown at over 100 galleries. As of this writing, my work is in or about to be in three one person exhibitions: in San Antonio, Texas my work is at Blue Star Contemporary Art Center; ADA Gallery in Richmond, Virginia just opened last week, and I am packing up a show for Gallery Milieu in Tokyo, Japan. I would love to be represented by a mid level gallery in New York City that has its home in Chelsea.

q) If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted?

a) It's best to go through my website.
http://www.ddlombardi.com/
There is a contact link for my email. But they should go through the web site first .

q) Do you have any suggestions or advice for artists that are just starting
out?

a) Be as busy as possible. Write, curate, do whatever you can to add to the field of art. Give as much as you can and something good will happen. And go to openings, meet as many people as possible - try to get on the inside.

q) Who are your favorite artists?

a) Dead, I would have to say Hieronymus Bosch, Philip Guston, Tintoretto, Elizabeth Murray, Francis Bacon, R.B. Kitaj - real painters. Living ones, I like Sue Williams, Sue Coe, Martin Puryear and many more.

q) What books are on your night-stand?

a) The catalog for the exhibition Cai Guo-Qiang: I want to Believe - I am writing a review of that show for Art in Asia. That show is at the Guggenheim Museum in NYC. Otherwise, I prefer short stories - usually by someone like Philip K Dick or the like.

q) To what weaknesses are you most indulgent?

a) Twenty years ago, I would have said beer, wine, scotch, vodka, but now two drinks gives me a headache. I guess right now it's sleep. I never get enough sleep because I am always working.

q)...your contacts.

a)email:
ddlombardi@optonline.net

address:
P.O. Box 108
Valhalla, Ny 10595 USA