Zio Ziegler

One of the unique emerging street artists in this era, Zio Ziegler is a contemporary artist who’s work is instantly recognisable and incredibly pure in its approach.  Using almost exclusively monochrome black and white Ziegler draws rather than paints using his airbrush to create intricately worked pieces sometimes vast in scale.  He takes obvious inspiration from traditional tribal designs, but is also inspired by more modern and contemporary artists which makes his work all the more interesting.  He cites some of his recent influences as French modernism, Eastern philosophy, Egyptology, Auguste Rodin, Xavier Veilhan, Eddy Martinez, Georges Braque and Thomas Houseago.

“Painting is my attempt at self-understanding. I create an experience for the viewer that parallels my own search in creation.  This process, my examination, is a constant balance between reason and intuition. I make in order to understand, rather to explain what has been made.”

Zio Ziegler lives and works in San Francisco, California where you will find many pieces he has made that vary in size and scale but always feature his trademark style.  He has said that he likes to create something that a viewer can get lost in and that his work is more an expression of his subconscious mind and how it sees the world.  His intention is to create triggers for the viewer within the painting that allows a viewer to be reminded of individual memories and experiences and in much of his work you will find hidden meanings and symbols.

Zio Ziegler is a graduate of Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design and has a studio in Mill Valley.  He is also the founder of Arte Sempre which is a lifestyle & clothing brand that makes his art accessible to the public through printed t-shirts, dresses and other unique pieces.

“Whether I am painting on a public wall or in my studio, my craft is a vehicle that shows me how to turn every crisis into an opportunity.  The naiveté and freedom I see and admire in the physical world directly influence the most primitive aspects of my work. I paint how I feel, not how I see.”

I’ve often been asked what my symbols mean in relation to one another, and while I hint at their meanings with a reference in a title, their meanings are as ephemeral as the process itself.  Because each painting lacks a singular explanation, the viewer is faced with self-reflection of his or her own life and internal pursuit.  My paintings have subjectively different meanings for each person that views them, and through the observer’s own balance of reason, context, and intuitive reaction, each one serves as a starting place of thought and reflection rather than a means to an end.”

Country : San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA