Let yourself be silently drawn
by the strange pull of what you really love.
It will not lead you astray.
-Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi
Over 750 years ago, the poet-philosopher Rumi grasped the profound and mystical power of intuition as the central guiding force for the creative soul. And while this understanding isn’t always embraced in a world driven by market interests and cold logic, many modern artists have learned to trust and listen to their inner voice. In our interview, multidisciplinary artist Mario Layne Fabrizio shares how walking the intuitive path has guided his creative process and life.
“I live my life really based off of trying to be as open as possible,” said Mario Layne Fabrizio, “and using wisdom, adventure and love as guiding principles of everything. And no fear. It's just kind of funny how we all live on this planet. It's just one planet out of maybe trillions of planets. And how much people are scared of everything. And there's a lot to be scared of, yeah, because of many things, but we're really just like a speck of dust, and it's just no need if there is a possibility to not have natural or unnatural things affecting your day-to-day. You know, like, I'm not being attacked by weapons every day. I'm not being blown up. I don't have animals, like thousands of years ago, attacking me, and I have to watch out for that. I live in this country, which we all have to figure out and worry about —or not worry— pay attention to certain things in our day-to-day to keep us alive. But there's no need to fear change and all that. You know? That's just how I try to live.”
Fabrizio is a visual artist, drummer, percussionist, filmmaker and writer. He began drumming at 14 years old while growing up in South Orange, New Jersey. Between 2020 and 2023, he created over 100 visual artworks, some of which were exhibited at Gallery AXIS in Pioneer Square, Seattle, in early 2024.
Fabrizio’s paintings are unrestrained, revealing complex layers of vulnerability tucked within each stroke. In his painting Angel Rose, watercolor pigment bleeds to the canvas edge obliterating the boundary between the artist’s creation and the viewer’s reality. There’s a feeling of loss there—loss of control, the inability to stop one paradigm from seeping into another. The handwritten text set against the backdrop of abstract forms suggests an internal dialogue or stream of consciousness: secret, intimate thoughts we’re given access to but that we may lack the context to fully understand. This convergence of imagery and text invites the viewer to let down their guard and allow themselves to be carried away to someplace mysterious yet rewarding.
Although Fabrizio’s unrestrained style indicates a freedom from traditional constraints, he has long been committed to evolving his skills, leveraging the knowledge of old masters in visual arts and music.
“I would practice all the time,” Fabrizio said. “I was one of the people that didn't really like school. And I would practice drums, and I had these after school programs. One was Jazz House kids, which was during the week, and then one was NJPAC Jazz for teens, which was on Saturdays. And I practiced too much. And then in college, I kind of figured out that well, it was actually one of my mentors who talked a lot about practicing in the brain. And then I really thought I was doing that a lot, and I kind of got too cerebral. But then I noticed that that also opens up a lot of other possibilities of seeing things and holding onto them and creating in your brain along the day. And I don't know, I just keep a lot in there, and I just like to express myself in a lot of ways. I'm just not a person that only wants to express myself in one way and think in one way. I think everything deserves its own medium to express itself. Like if you're in a relationship, you're not going to say everything. You might do something physically; it could be anything. It could be doing something for someone. It could be a romantic thing, whatever. It could just be like a facial gesture. I think people naturally express themselves in many different ways, but society right now makes people close off certain paths of creativity within themselves, so then they feel like they only could create one thing.”
The idea of the Renaissance Man is often overused in modern contexts. However, the concept of the ‘universal man’ is rooted in a more expansive, humanistic philosophy that could offer a deep well of value to today’s multidisciplinary artist. When Baldassare Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier was published in 1528, it both captured and shaped the ideals of the Renaissance era which emphasized the importance of a broad and well-rounded education. According to Castiglione, a courtier should have a deep knowledge of the arts, literature, music, and sciences. This holistic approach to personal development reflects the Renaissance belief in the interconnectedness of all forms of knowledge and creativity, suggesting that true excellence arises from the integration of diverse skills and disciplines. These ideals provide validation and guidance for today’s multidisciplinary artist, who is often confronted with the belief that ‘a jack of all trades is a master of none.’ However, the full quote reminds us that ‘a jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.’
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