HACKETTSTOWN, NJ (Warren County) — Joseph Coco will be exhibiting 33 paintings & drawings from his series: THE MANHATTAN CITYSCAPES.
They will be on display at Centenary University Taylor Memorial Library from now through Jan. 1, 2024. The library hours are Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.: free admission to the public. For more information contact the Taylor Memorial Library and speak with the Library Staff at 908-852-1400 Ext. 2345.
MANHATTAN CITYSCAPES present another side to Coco’s art with plen-aire painting rooftop views of Manhattan. During a 3-year stint as a Warner Bros singer/songwriter, Coco was in landmark buildings. Spanning a 5-year period, the series ranges from 5”x4” ball point sketches of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, to 40”x32” oil on canvas works of Trump Plaza, IBM Atrium, Rockefeller Center, and rooftop views from Tiffany’s, etc.
An international exhibiting artist, Coco’s FULL MOON SERIES, is “unprecedented, a first of its kind in the history of world” –A.Onuff / Ph.D / Art History This collection of over 136 paintings, drawings and prints celebrates its 50th Anniversary. Started in 1972, Coco creates a canvas every December as a synopsis of the year. A January image anticipates what his year will look like. Published this year by Flying Game, I Paint The Moon is a 260 page full color book available thru LuLu.com, Print-On-Demand.
Coco’s recent Sept/October 2023 exhibit at Centenary, IF WALLS COULD SPEAK, “redefines the image of Sicily”. The series celebrates Coco’s Sicilian/American heritage, with 2-books of 100 stories each that include all 106 narrative fantasy paintings, drawings and photographs created while Coco was a resident in Lisbon then Messina, Sicily 1992 thru 1997. The series also includes 9-albums of instrumentals and songs inspired by Sicily.
Completing a Master of Fine Arts degree from Rutgers University – Mason Gross, Coco earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Northern Arizona University. His RE-MASTERED -DVD- COLLECTION, four experimental films & video, combine music Coco composed & recorded for his paintings & drawings. Generated through the first generation of desktop Mac’s and IBM’s, the work is included in 25 Public collections such as: California’s MOMA-SF, LA County & DeYoung Museums; New York’s Whitney; Boston’s Museum Of Fine Art; Pennsylvania’s Philadelphia MOM; New Jersey’s Princeton & Paterson Museums etc. Coco’s 110 solo exhibitions include four European Museums. Over 550 works of art are in 450 Private Patrons, and International Collections, such as: Gulbenkian Museum-Lisbon; Galleria Nazionale-Rome; and Kridel Securities Paris.
Joe Coco is also a versatile singer / songwriter with infectious energy. He has performed from New York’s Bottom Line & Folk City; L.A.’s Troubadour; Switzerland’s Atlantis Club; to Rome’s Teatro Sistina. A prolific songwriter, 800 songs are indexed with BMI. Fifty-eight albums since 1979, many of his songs reflect a strong social conscience. A native of Passaic, New Jersey, Coco lived in Flagstaff, Arizona for eleven years and Messina, Sicily for 5 years. He continues to perform in summer Italian Festivals since his return to the States in 2000. Six of his albums are in Cleveland’s ROCK N ROLL HALL OF FAME Library of Protest & Special Collections, including Blues House-A Blues Opera considered one of the first Blues Opera’s ever written. Coco has opened concerts for Keb Mo, B.B. King, John Hammond, Commander Cody, Leon Redbone, The Roaches, Big Bill Morganfield (Muddy Water’s son) and many more.
Coco is currently an Adjunct Professor at Centenary University since 2004 teaching Art Appreciation, Painting, Drawing & History Of Rock n Rap courses.
