Gustavo Rasso

Gustavo Rasso's study of Byzantine iconography has deeply influenced his current work of digital portraits. He often focuses on well-known historical figures, yet he tweaks the imagery and adds textures and visual effects that at times lend a surreal quality to these portraits. There is never a sense of distortion in these images, however; rather, the personality of his subject comes through, their character retained, since he uses the subject itself as his inspiration for his digital enhancements.

Gustavo has said that his digital paintings are the melding of a classical vision of painting with the infinite possibilities provided to the artist by digital technology. In an age when icons from the worlds of entertainment, advertising and sports are all around us, Gustavo has distilled the idea of the artistic portrait down to its essence. He brings forth the emotional resonance of portraiture, so that we see his subjects intimately and anew.