The Art of Lisa Petrucci

Bio

lisaheadshotwebLisa Petrucci

Education:
1991-92 New School for Social Research, New York

NY School of Visual Arts, New York

1986 BA, Summa Cum Laude, Bradford College, Bradford, MA

1981-83 The Art Institute of Boston, Boston, MA

Lisa Petrucci grew up in suburban Northeastern Massachusetts. She sites early influences as Kimba the White Lion, Josie and the Pussycats, Liddle Kiddles, Barbie, Sid & Marty Krofft, and The New Wonder Woman comics of the early Seventies.

From a very early age, Lisa has been interested in art. Her first drawings were of Snoopy & Woodstock, the Roadrunner and Archie comics-inspired girls, platform shoes and heavily mascara-ed eyes floating on pages. As a teen she would draw pictures of sexy fashion models, horses and detailed pen and ink studies of cute animals like koalas and bunnies abounded until she went to art school and learned better.

Lisa became a gallery curator in Portland, Maine, Boston, Massachusetts and eventually went to New York City where she was the director of the Pat Hearn Gallery and then Bess Cutler Gallery until 1993. Disenchanted with the contemporary art world, she moved to the west coast where she became part of the burgeoning Lowbrow art movement and eventually settled in Seattle after meeting her soulmate, Mike Vraney of Something Weird Video (who tragically passed away in January 2014 after a heroic battle with lung cancer).

Over the years Lisa’s obsession with pop culture grew and festered. She amassed an impressive collection old toys, dolls, kitsch, pin up art, vintage men’s magazines and pulps. Eventually these things inspired her own artwork and she found the perfect format for her imagery – the round bark border of the souvenir wood plaque. Each slab of wood is lovingly painted with the things she enjoys most and celebrate femininity and all that is cute.

Since 1993, Lisa’s paintings have been exhibited and seen all over the world. She’s part of the Pop Surrealism movement and has been featured in many diverse publications, including her own deluxe art book “Kickass Kuties – The Art of Lisa Petrucci” published by Dark Horse. She’s also considered to be one of the Grand Dames of Lowbrow Art.

Lisa retired from painting in 2016, and is currently a film historian and the boss lady of Something Weird Video, a nostalgic exploitation mail order video company.