artists
JOSEPH CAPICOTTO
(CANADIAN ARTIST, B. 1965)
“It touches my soul”, an art enthusiast comments on one of my paintings...memorable words that reflect how the
arts influence my everyday life. Paint, music, and an energy fuse together and casually flow from my knife to the
canvas... subject unknown. Although a lifelong fascination with the fine arts’ capacity to express and evoke
emotions, eventually reveals itself in a figure, a landscape, or an abstract composition. My passion is in the
transparent orchestration of all the layers in a manner that they work in harmony and build up to a moment
when I can stand back and feel...
“it touches my soul”.
BIOGRAPHY
Joseph Capicotto is a lifetime professional artist who is well-
known for his wide variety of subject matter, particularly his figures, and an ever-evolving fascination with painting methods. His wealth of
experience in light, colour, and form is seen in the natural transition
he brings to the canvas. His paintings resonate with carefree passion,
expressing a sense of confidence in everything eventually coming
together.
Joseph earned an Honours Degree in Fine Arts and Mass
Communications at Toronto’s York University, specializing in Figure
Drawing. Subsequently, in 1990 he opened up his own shop in a local
Toronto mall doing portraiture. After gaining traction within the area
he opened a second shop in another local mall. Being recognized for
his portraiture work locally, he was commissioned on many occasions
to do murals residentially and in restaurants all over the city of
Toronto. Inspired by Michelangelo’s frescoes, Joseph created his own
form of plaster that was applied using palette knives in his murals
which eventually garnered the attention of many people within the
city, including a couple of art dealers from Kipling Gallery that
approached him in 2003 wanting to represent him. From there Joseph
started doing mixed media paintings on canvas for Kipling Gallery, and
in 2005 was approached by Beauchamp Galleries wanting to
represent him in their Quebec City galleries. Gaining much publicity in
Toronto and Quebec City lead to Art World Gallery wanting to
represent him in their gallery on the coast of Falmouth, UK in 2018.
Also in 2018, Joseph had his first solo show hosted by Kipling Gallery,
followed by attending Beauchamp Galleries annual “Les nuit des
Galeries”. In 2023 Beauchamp Galleries expanded their representation
of Joseph’s works into their Montreal and Toronto galleries. In 2024
he is now also being represented by his son Giancarlo, in Giancarlo’s
newly established gallery Terracotta Art Gallery, representing him
within the Greater Toronto Area and internationally. To date, Joseph’s
next solo show is set to take place in 2024 in the UK hosted by Art
World Gallery.
His paintings continue to be represented in renowned galleries and found in private collections throughout the world. In his journey he has also
enjoyed much media exposure ranging from art shows to numerous charity events and galas where he met many Hollywood celebrities some of
whom have attained Joseph’s paintings.
Today, Joseph is experimenting with the inclusion of encaustic allowing him to continue using palette knives in his mixed media paintings. The
addition of encaustic in his mixed media paintings lends itself beautifully creating a distinct blend of texture and current painting styles. The
uniqueness of this blend harmonizes in such a subtle way that gives a feeling of tranquility in his most recent works.
As a result of his relentless passion to create and challenge himself, Joseph continues to explore the spectrum of colours, methods and ideas that
allow him to channel his desire to communicate, connect and inspire.
