We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful John Paradiso. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with John below.

John, appreciate you joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

Although I show nationally I do not make a living from my artwork and have always had and continue to have outside employment. I live and work in The Gateway Arts District, in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The arts district was developed to attract economic revitalization along the U.S. Route 1 Corridor with an arts catalyst.
I work with Landex Development, LLC, who proposed and later built a 147-unit mixt-use apartment building here in the Arts District Called Studio 3807. They allotted 3000 square feet of space for a visual arts component to the building which consists of 6 visual arts studios and a gallery. I have a freelance contract as the on-site resident artist and curator for the Portico Gallery and Studios.
So to answer the question, I am happy. I get to run an art-making and exhibition space that supports many artists with exhibitions and other programming opportunities.
It’s interesting to think about happiness within my personal art-making practice. There are so many ways making art for me is hard and sometimes painful. I do a lot of hand stitching and after about 5 hours my neck and hands can start to hurt.
Also, I submit my work to many exhibitions and get rejected and the disappointment can be draining. I also wish my work was more accomplished and I need to ensure that I do not punish myself for not being better.
But with that said, I would not want to be doing anything else. My studio is the only place where I do not have to answer or consider anyone but myself, my decisions only affect me and my work. I am passionate and driven about my artwork. I have always wanted to live my life creating.
I am very appreciative of the collectors and the collections my works are in. I do feel happy when folks respond to the work and show interest. So happiness comes and goes, but I am constantly grateful for the life I am living and that I get to work in my studio every day.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My work is an ongoing exploration of my gay male identity, it is influenced by the impact of the AIDS epidemic during the 80s and 90s, internal and external homophobia, sexual desire, growing old, and love. After moving to Washington DC in 2001 I was reminded of a past visit to DC when the AIDS memorial quilt was on full display on the National Mall. This experience inspired me to start working with textiles and to make quilts that spoke of survival and sexual liberation. During my exploration with textiles, I started to do smaller embroidery work of men and masculinity, collage work using vintage erotica with fabric, and mixed media and whole cloth quilts.
I use a lot of Pansy imagery in my work. This imagery refers to its historical use as a disparaging term for a man or boy who was considered either effeminate or homosexual. The irony is that the Pansy is a very harty flower, a term once meant to be ugly and hurtful remaining resistant and pretty.
In the artwork, I try to represent a queer fluid masculinity. For me, the work is a celebration of masculinity informed by the feminine.
Some Background: I earned my BFA at the State University of New York at Purchase (89) and my MFA at the State University of New York in Buffalo (92). I have artwork in private and public collections including the Kinsey Institute, the Leslie Lohman Museum, the University of Maryland, College Park, and a portfolio of seven photographs in the National Picture Collection at the Library of Congress, (AIDS portfolio)
For many years I served as a health educator and caregiver in the HIV /AIDS community and developed educational programs and provided peer-based counseling for men. More recently I was an artist-in-resident at the Washington Hospital Center working with adult cancer patients, their families, and caregivers.
Since 2018, I am on contract with Landex Development LLC at their STUDIO 3807 mixed-use property as the Resident Artist/Curator, Portico Gallery and Studios, in Brentwood MD.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My goal is to be a successful working artist. But what does success mean, fortune and fame? As I mentioned my artwork is not overly commercial so I really had to come up with a definition of success that I could live by. “I’ve just completed a piece of art, and I’m working on a new piece of art, and I have a piece of art in my head that I want to make.” That is my definition of being a successful working artist.
But I have many other goals. I would like to have gallery representation, I would like more people to own my work, and I would like to be in more permanent and prominent collections. I think it all starts with going to the studio every day and working hard.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I listen to books on tape while I’m working in my studio or driving, and I often listen to books about “how to be a successful artist” or “how to make money from your art”, etc. I find them interesting to listen to and mostly helpful for me with the information I can share with other artists, but my artwork is not overly commercial, so they are not always applicable to my practice. Two books that I have listened to recently are both by Jerry Saltz, ART IS LIFE, and HOW TO BE AN ARTIST. They are both very enjoyable. I like his sense of humor and how he looks at art and the art world.

Contact Info:

• Website: John-paradiso.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john_paradiso_artist/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP1q4v2B188

Image Credits
All Photo Credits John Paradiso, Portico Gallery except Studio 3807 Building, Leather Boy, and A Couple of Leather Pansies, Photo Credit: Anything Photographic