Our February Meeting, we are excited about hearing from Rick!
Location: D’Art Center, 740 Busch St., Norfolk, VA 23510
Rick Seguso was born in 1949 in Bronxville, New York into a family of artists and athletes. His father, Arthur, was a professional baseball player. His uncle Richard is an accomplished artist. His grandfather, Armand, was one of the premier poster artists of his day working for movie giants while creating iconic posters for classic films including “Gone With The Wind”, "Philadelphia Story”, “Kismet”, and “For Whom The Bell Tolls”.
After a youthful foray into the sports world, it’s not surprising that these seminal influences led Seguso into the creative life of a poet, actor, musician and painter. Primarily self-taught, Segundo was influenced as a painter by his grandfather's work, his own research and resourcefulness, and studies with internationally known artist Peter Olsen.
Seguso’s work can be found in collections worldwide and has been shown in leading galleries garnering critical recognition and rewards such as the Mary Hulitar award from the Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach, Florida.
Equine art, floral, landscapes and portraits are a big part of Seguso’s work, but at the heart of Seguso’s eclectic subject matter are his moody and evocative portraits of musicians. With confident and authoritative brushwork, special emphasis is placed on each character’s distinct and individual nature, capturing these images in bold and realistic paintings. Inspired and influenced by the Old Masters and Post-Impressionists, Seguso’s technique is under-painting in grisaille, and most of his works include varying degrees of glazing, “a technique, often overlooked by modern day artists, but an invaluable tool in creating jewel-like depth and style that is impossible to achieve by just mixing paint,” Seguso says.
Seguso’s colorful past includes working for legendary rocker Bruce Springsteen as his Road Manager and confidant in the mid 1970’s. He played a pivotal role in the musician’s rise to stardom. Seguso is also a card-carrying member of the Screen Actors Guild since 1994 and has a body of work as a stage, film, and TV actor.
A songwriter/poet for most of his life, Seguso has released two CD’s of original songs entitled “Don’t Give Up” (2014) and “My Last Confession” (2017). It is both amazing and inspiring that despite surviving a serious bout of throat cancer in 2000, Seguso’s recovery has left him undeterred and grateful. He continues to perform publicly.