INTERNAL BLEEDING: ART SHOW REVIEW AND INTERVIEW W/ MARCO DILEONARDO

Last Friday, myself, Marilyn, and fellow Brooklyn Originals Anthony Picone and Joe Milazzo took a trek down to Glascott Funeral Home in Queens. Thankfully it was for an art show and not a funeral! Marco DiLeonardo lives above the home, and acts as it's caretaker. This afforded him the opportunity to use the space on an off night for a fantastic gallery featuring his work, affectionately called Internal Bleedings.

Well the night from our POV was successful. The place, from the chapel that held his work to his apartment upstairs, was streaming with folks all night long; we left around 1:30am! It seemed that most of Marco's vast amount of friends were in attendance throwing their support for their artistically inclined pal. His family, coworkers, and strangers who heard about the show filled out the crowd. It looked like everyone brought alcohol as well as there was enough for 3 time the crowd as well! And Marco made sure we were all well fed with 2 giant sandwiches, one with chicken cutlets, fresh mozzarella, and roasted peppers that was outrageously good! One of his friends made a pretty tasty baked ziti as well! Everyone was well entertained.

Onto the show itself. Marco really excels at presentation as his framing received numerous praise. To number his works he stuck jigsaw puzzle pieces next to each one and numbered those, very fitting as pieces like that creep into his work every so often. Everything was affordably priced as well, but not so much to be insulting to the artist, which is always nice to see. And if you didn't have the money for one you got to take home a free Moo card with Marco's art on it.

The pieces themselves were a collection of works spanning his entire illustrative career. There is great emotion and language to his work and a vast understanding of what makes the mind work. You can tell Marco looks deeply within himself every time he begins a new piece. You can see right now that Marco is in top form and gaining steam. Every new work looks better than the last and folks are starting to take notice. I firmly believe the best is yet to come from this artist and everyone needs to start paying attention.

After the weekend we spoke to Marco himself about the show, his perceptions, and the future...


After having the weekend to recover from your big art show how do you feel the show went?

The show was fantastic. More people turned out than I had anticipated. Honestly, things could not have gone any smoother. Important contacts were made and old friends resurfaced. We ate, we drank, we basked in the art. All in all the response was great and the show was a total success.

How many pieces did you sell and how did it make you feel when you sold each piece?

Eight pieces were sold in total. I’m thrilled just knowing my art is hanging on someone’s wall. Usually I have issues parting with my original art. This time around I made peace with the pieces that went, with the exception of “Weakback”. Letting go of that piece was tough. Fortunately, my good friend Katie Wood owns “Weakback” now. I see her all the time and I know it’s in a good home. Ultimately each painting has its own sentimentality to me. The ones I hold dear are always the hardest to let go of.

Your pieces are very unique. They tend to grab the viewer and get a real emotional reaction out of them. Do you ever think about the viewer's reaction when working on a piece?

I try not to think of the viewer’s reaction when I’m working because it affects the outcome of the piece. This form of art is half organic, half free-association. In other words it just works itself out. The action is hardly premeditated. It’s brain to hand with a conscious effort on very little outside interference. Trying kills the process. It’s all execution with finishing touch-ups that I add later. If I worry about what people will think I’m going to befuddle the concept and integrity of the piece.

You were a comic book artist first for many years and did these illustrative internal bleedings on side, but have switched that up in the last year and a half. How do you compare the two mediums and what made you switch your focus?

I find comic book art to be extremely demanding and difficult. I give those guys and gals who draw comics professionally all the credit in the world. The traditional comic art I once did and my current paintings are two totally different things. I only get one panel to get my message across, which suits me fine. I prefer this now that I have a nine to five. It comes down to survival.

Where do you want to go with your Internal Bleeding work? What does the future hold?

Well, I’m certainly going to continue cranking out more work. There are also going to be more art shows on the horizon. Eventually I aspire to put out books featuring my artwork with descriptions about each piece. Also, I hope to lend my images to creating more t-shirt and tattoo designs. At this point the sky’s the limit.

Thanks, Marco. Check out Brooklyn Original's pics from Marco's Show.

And to check out Marco's work get to clicking these links: http://www.marcodileonardo.blogspot.com/ http://www.marcodileonardo.com/