Bio

Born in Miami, FL in 1973, Christopher (Chris) DiCicco is a Visual Artist whose work explores the connection between sight, dream, memory, and metaphor in an effort to envision what is outside of direct knowledge.  He is the founder and director of Synapse Gallery and Center for Photography in Benton Harbor, MI.[1] DiCicco received his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Photography and Digital Media from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2002. Bachelor of Science (BS) in Photography from Andrews University in 1995. He is a recipient of The Photography Institute’s[2] National Graduate Seminar fellowship at Columbia University 2002. He has been active in community-based art by serving on the New Territory Arts Association[3] Board of Directors. He has volunteered for projects including the Benton Harbor Children’s Art Fair, as Director of the New Territory Arts Association Mural Project, and the I-2-eye: Collaborative Portrait Project. His work has been shown nationally, and resides in both private and public collections including the David H. Tippit Photobook Collection in Boulder, CO, the School of Art Special Collections at Texas Tech University, and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

Artist Statement

Works 

Submerged Entropy: Recovering Cultural Voice, 2007                                                                    Curatorial (DiCicco-Murakami, Hiroshi Hayakawa) 

Submerged Entropy gathers the work of sculpture and installation artists who investigate notions of voice in our society. They transform their encounters with voice into sensory experiences, which echo, reflect, challenge, and hopefully renew conversations with voices of our own. 

Sonic Vigil, 2007 (DiCicco-Murakami)                                   Sculptural Sound-Installation

Sonic Vigil is a sound installation, which plays with notions of tranquility and alarm. This piece transforms the exhibition space into a sonic experience which questions the world's socio-political climate and mediated information.

I Am Sorry [For Your Loss], 2007 (DiCicco-Murakami)                  One Minute Video Performance         

I Am Sorry [For Your Loss] is a video-performance of the prescribed rites of sympathy. This is our attempt to express our empathy to all people in the world who have lost family, friends and neighbors to recent conflicts and disasters.

Strip-Mall Universe, 2006 (DiCicco-Murakami)                   Photo-Sculptural Installation

Strip-Mall Mobius, 2006 (DiCicco-Murakami)                     Photo-Sculptural Installation

Synapse Gallery and Center for Photography, 2004-2006         Founded in 2004, in Benton Harbor, MI, Synapse Gallery and Center for Photograhpy exists to provide a venue for the investigation of visual culture. Through exhibitions, workshops and other related initiatives, its function is to raise awareness on the community level in regard to topics shaping the field of the visual-arts and imaging. 

 New Territory Mural Project, 2005                                               Community Based Collaboration | Oil Painting

i-2-eye:Collaborative Portrait Project, 2005                                                                            Student Based Collaboration | Photography

These photographs are a collaborative effort to dive into the waters of dialogue with Benton Harbor’s Youth. They stand as a record of community engagement, and youth empowerment, while challenging my own notions of race and identity.

Dance of Death, 2002-2004                                                           Photography

Visions and Dreams, 2002                                                                Photography