Today we’d like to introduce you to Bruno Surdo.
Bruno, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My journey started in the playground at John Barry Elementary School on the Northwest part of Chicago in 1973. I was nine years old and witnessed an eighth grade boy sketching a Native American image in my older brother’s yearbook. I was mesmerized by the ease and confidence in this older boy’s ability to make something come alive on paper. I knew from that moment, I wanted to have the ability to draw with the same skill.
Growing up as a first generation Italian American in Chicago, I was exposed to the urbanization of city life while absorbing a rich history of Italian art and culture. My family were proud of this lineage to some of the greatest contributions to Western Civilization. I became obsessed in learning about history and culture and soon discovered the Italian Renaissance. Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian were household names while I was growing up. I also was a child of the sixties and seventies in America. The changes in American culture during this period affected me profoundly. I was exposed to the undoing of social barriers and the iniquitousness of pop culture. I became aware on how art could be a vehicle to expressing a time capsule of history. I also understood that to be skilled as the artists and Illustrators I so admired, I needed to be educated.
After my high school years, I embarked on an educational route through a commercial art college at The American Academy of Art in Chicago. The college provided a solid foundation to learning the principles of making art and drawing from the live model. I also met some inspiring art instructors who saw my interest and ambition to paint in the style of the old masters. They guided me to seek more education beyond the Academy’s program. I was fortunate to have a classmate who informed me of a school in Minneapolis, Minnesota that educated artists in the tradition of the old masters. It was called Atelier Lack. This atelier was created by the artist Richard Lack. He modeled his school after the great ateliers of 18th and 19th century France. This type of education stemmed back to the Renaissance and currently has had a revival in our time with the opening of many ateliers across the world. In 1992, I opened up my own atelier called The School of Representational Art in Chicago. I trained many artists for twenty four years until the closing in 2016.
After my studies, I began to accept commissions and exhibit my work throughout the Chicagoland area. I have been in many galleries across the country and my work is in public and private collections all over the world. I have received awards from the Mayor of Chicago to winning an International Figurative art competition. I have been featured on public radio and television and have been featured on local news channels. I have had many public speaking engagements and featured in various publications .I also am a committed instructor who mentors and supports aspiring artists through my private teaching and at Columbia College, Chicago.
I had a major art exhibition at Gallery Victor Armendariz. The show is entitled “Liberation” and will feature sixteen newly created works. I continually seek new horizons and creative outlets and believe that making art for me is a passion and a privilege.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The smooth road for me was provided by meeting great teachers who guided and helped me find a path to a challenging career. Fred Berger and Richard Halstead were teacher’s of mine at The American Academy of Art. These two accomplished artists gave me encouragement and confidence in developing my own vision and ability. Richard Lack was also a big influence on my development in providing an Atelier to study in the tradition of the great artists of the past. There have been so many supporters along my career and I have been blessed to have many of these people go out of their way to help me when needed.
The struggles that also came with my career usually happened when limitations were forced upon me by others. This was usually indicated by someone saying to me “you can’t do that” or “why are you doing that?”. The true challenge for any artist is having the confidence and vision to take risks. These risks may not always follow a logical methodology but they are intuitive. This inner voice of intuition may understand the challenge in the risk, but breaking down barriers is part of the spirit of creativity. I am always trying to extend my artistic ability. I constantly evaluate my work and abilities by the standards of the art I admire and study. This unquenchable need to try new things without restrictions on myself is what makes each new body of work pure and honest.
Each individual choosing a path of becoming a professional artist probably will have some emotional, psychological, financial and creative challenges, but if that artist is truly dedicated and passionate about making the art of their choosing, nobody has the right to limit that individual to a world of making art.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are most proud of.
I am a full time fine artist known for creating figurative narrative art. I specialize in depicting realistic imagery while creating large canvases that explore the human condition. My true focus in my art is the depiction of the human body through multiple technical applications.
I believe the uniqueness in my artwork is taking the pageantry, skill and grandeur of Renaissance and Baroque art and combining it with a post-modernistic treatment. This juxtaposition of skilled realism combined with 21st iconography is part of my style and artistic reputation.
I am most proud of in my career is committing to a passion of becoming a full time practicing artist, and then having the vision and discipline to have it last over thirty plus years. There have many setbacks and overwhelming challenges, but I have endured and continue to yearn for improvement while expanding my abilities and knowledge.
I also am dedicated to teaching and sharing my knowledge and experience with others. I been an instructor/professor and advisor for thirty years and really enjoy helping students and artists find their own path to making their own art.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
My definition of success is having the confidence, motivation, vision and ability to do what you want, while having financial security and an emotional support system. These principles are important because to be an artist there will be various emotional “highs” and “lows” in revealing creative personal expressions, while accumulating many costs and expenses to a career without a monetary guarantee. Most artists find these challenges to be the biggest obstacles in pursuing a life and career in any of the arts.
The markers I associate with success are based on a meritocracy of achievement in each of a person’s career choice. This is accomplished through discipline, hard and honest work and the ability to improve on one’s limitations. This also includes exposing one’s talents to the right people and having a strategy to achieving goals. These goals are usually accomplished incrementally and take patience and time.
Other markers I believe in, are knowing how to learn from your mistakes and the ability to improve upon them. This takes a great deal of openness to criticism from others and the confidence in continuing to improve oneself.
Contact Info:
- Address: Bruno Surdo Studio, 1900 Greenwood Street unit 6, Evanston, Illinois 60201
- Website: bruno-surdo.com or brunosurdoart.com
- Phone: 847 858-6609
- Email: bruno@bruno-surdo.com
- Instagram: brunoanthonysurdo or bsurdo1
- Facebook: Bruno Surdo
Image Credit:
Bruno Surdo
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