artists > Bob Magrisso

Bob Magrisso is an artist whose works are generally in the forms of wood carving, mixed media, and drawing. He has been creating for over 40 years. He has had a few one person shows locally and has contributed works to a number of curated group shows. He has been a presenter as a physician and artist in the context of his own cardiac arrest and near death experience before local and national groups. He was profiled in a book about “enhanced creativity after near death experience.
As an untrained artist, he often works in wood, finding inspiration in the art of the Southwest, especially the folk art of the santeros and the kachinas of the native peoples. His love for trees, wood and spiritual themes have led to an ongoing series called “Wisdom Figures”. Recently, he has begun to incorporate wood turning in his work, creating vessels with a particular interest in cremation vessels.

Mixed media works are often in the world of “2 ½ dimensions”. An inspiration for this work has been the boxes of Joseph Cornell. (He thinks may be the only fan who is actually interested not only in the content of the boxes, but the boxes themselves.) These works generally express a spiritual content, often related to science and mysticism, the latter especially as the mystery at the heart of life.

The last medium in which he works is drawing . In these drawings, he is trying to capture feelings and emotions, both conscious and unconscious. Most recently he has started displaying drawings done during his time as a practicing physician. He did over 300 drawings on the cardboard backs of notepads at the office, often between patients and during telephone calls. It kept his “right brain” active while the “left brain” did much of the medical practice. (He figured that if William Carlos Williams could write poems between patients, he had a license to draw.)

In his studio, he has series called “Drawings on Brown Paper”. Many relate to feelings during the pandemic and others are reactions to the news of the day.