Maniscalco's artist statement

Artist Statement

My work is about my victory over fear and self-loathing. It is a celebration of survival in a world that seems so often determined to keep me and other survivors, silent. As a young teen, in 1974, I was sexually assaulted and threatened with death if I were ever to tell anyone “our little secret.” I fell mute; I literally couldn’t utter a word for weeks. The man was my sister’s boyfriend, a trusted doctor at Children’s Hospital in Detroit. He groomed me, insulated by his position of authority. After the assault he terrorized me for months after. I dissociated, haunted by fear and shame. Later, as an adult, after years of therapy and turning my life over to a loving Christ, I felt called to break free of my lost innocence and “victimhood” by bringing light and vivid color into the world, transforming my fear and pain into beauty and light.

I believe artists are our conscience, the teachers of society. The best artists can go deep within themselves to bring up the treasures, usually in the form of questions, which form a blueprint for a meaningful creative life. As a professional creative, I am always looking for ways to bring meaning and clarity into the world, to use my God given talent to inquire and to edify. Simply put, I love putting ideas and things together in ways that please and make sense to me. ​So, I share my journey, finding, processing and expressing insight any way I can, to whoever is willing to engage in our shared experiences together on this planet, interconnected by empathy by our humanity. I do this through painting, writing, theatre, composing and teaching.

My goal as a visual artist, a painter, is to explore the full range of my medium, which is light. I have developed several bodies of work exploring a variety of genres and subjects, but the poetry of light on form keeps finding its way into my work. Light is the force which reveals the subtleties of nature, particularly the human condition, uncovering what it means to be human on our path toward the light. This dynamic journey toward the light is a theme which runs through all my work, both literally and figuratively. Mine is a story of survival and wonder. Together, we find ways to make the best of what we are given. Often there is struggle, heartbreak, loss. But there is always a new dawn that awaits us if we can just hold on.

With this in mind, I plow the fields of portraiture, landscape and still life, surrealism, whatever inspires me. What I keep coming back to is the many creative ways we find to overcome and grow from our shared journey through adversity into the light. For instance, I am continuing a series of paintings called The Quench Project begun during my vision quest to Haiti in November 2014, focused on desire and the ways we quench it. Also, I am continuing my Faces of the Lowcountry series of paintings, which is an exploration of the joy and tenacity of the Gullah people as they continue to define and celebrate their identity, a cultural symbol of survival and abundant hope for all people. I also have been into an Iconic Charleston Series, which is all about what makes my home of Charleston so magical for me. Another body of work, consisting of highly chromatic figurative renderings, called Chromo Sapient, is intended to push the envelope of color, while maintaining the chiaroscuro – the illusion of light on form. Expressive realism may be my dharma but I have also recently begun to explore the possibilities of narrative and poetry using color and light to transport the viewer of my work into other dimensions of reality. I am also the doppelganger of NETI, who is that he is not.

I also consider my work as a commission portrait artist a major part of my artistic journey. In fact, I think my portraits will be my greatest legacy. Together with my noncommission portrait work, my journey can be summed up with an honest curiosity and respect for what makes nature and people tick. That’s what feeds my soul. I invite you to read my Bio for more about my story and the forces that drive my creative engine.

Why is Original Art is Important and Valuable?