Brian Messina

Artist statement: Brian's artistic style has evolved to a point that each work emotes a deeply meaningful experience. Every stroke he paints, each color choice he makes, represents an emotion he experienced at a particular moment in time. His raw emotion is evident in each and every work he creates. Acrylics, oils, inks, dyes and stains are Brian's favorite mediums. He forces them to work together, carefully manipulating them to tell his story.

Bio: Brian Messina was born and raised in New York. His passion for art and music developed at an early age. Sadly, his parents did not share his enthusiasm for the arts, and as a result, he left home at sixteen years of age. He began working at odd jobs with the hope of supporting himself and financing his own education in the arts.

Brian has taken coursework at the School of Visual Arts in New York, New York and Nassau Community College in Uniondale, New York. Through courses in fine art, classical piano, and classical guitar, his love of art flourished and his skills were finely honed.

During the 90's, Brian painted prolifically, selling to fellow artists and musicians in the NYC scene. An apartment fire in Flushing, New York destroyed all of his unsold artwork and personal belongings. This event triggered a downward spiral of depression, which resulted in a decade of artistic inactivity. Brian was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder. However, he has been able to gain control of his mental illness through art. Painting has become a means of therapy, as it allows him to release personal events onto canvas.

Brian has sold several works to private collectors throughout the United States and Europe and has exhibited his art throughout New York. He is presently finalizing his most recent body of work and is in negotiations with several galleries.