Born in 1986 in Northern California, Justin Lovato is a self-taught artist who found his passion and artistic home in boundary-pushing styles that range from Optical Art to Surrealist.
Lovato is inspired by the purest art forms found in nature – patterns, bifurcating ratios of plant growth, or clouds creating light swirling sunset or sunrise skies.
“It’s the realization of the micro and macro existing simultaneously,” he says. “I hope to stimulate and inspire by creating a node of beauty among the aesthetic of nature.”
His connection to nature is undeniable in his work. From living in the lush mountainous terrain of western Washington to the rolling hills of the western Sierra Nevada in Northern California, his work cultivates an aesthetic appreciation and concern for the natural world.
Nowhere is this concept better represented than in his mural work, especially in the city of Grass Valley, where the artist drew from his appreciation of Rick Griffin, and the psychedelic poster artists. The result is a playful representation of the area’s history as a Gold Rush town and the natural beauty it still offers. The mural inspired the city to work with other artists. Grass Valley is now a designated Arts and Cultural District by the California Arts Council.
Lovato also draws inspiration from Optical Art icon Bridget Riley and graphic artist M.C. Escher, successfully using techniques that create abstract juxtapositions of shapes and forms to create the illusion of movement. His use of pattern and color are mere vehicles for transporting the viewer across vortexes that pierce the very fabric of life – all through a delicate motif of perfectly still, yet rapidly moving patterns of cumulus clouds and otherworldly geometric shapes.
Lovato has been featured in numerous galleries across the U.S, the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art in CA. He has been featured online and in print publications such as Hi-Fructose, Juxtapoz, Booooom, and GrafittiArt magazines.
