Ori Carino was born in a functioning art gallery loft on Houston st. Downtown Manhattan 1982. A life-long artist, He was raised among many pivotal artists of the 80s art movement of the Lower East Side. Carino painted with Keith Haring when he was 5, participated in performance photos by Toyo Tsuchiya, and had his first exhibition at NoSeNo with AiWeiWei and Kazako Miyamoto. Carino attended Cooper Union and Parsons high school programs, going on to complete studies in painting/installation at SMFA, Boston in 2005. In addition, he completed the Asian Classics Institute Masters program, followed by a 10 year study in traditional Tibetan painting with the master artist Pema Rinzin. Carino continues to make paintings, sculptures, and interdisciplinary experimental work, full time in his Manhattan art studio. He is working closely with VR/AR specialist, Mehow Skalski, developing digital sculptures and assemblage NFTs. Carino directs the archive/estate of the iconoclastic artist Toyo Tsuchiya, building Toyo’s archive and complete catalogue raisonne. He has made collaborative work with Toyo, Lee Quinones, and Benjamin Armas. His work has been exhibited internationally in galleries, art fairs, and institutions. Carino’s work is included in important collections in Europe, Asia, and the USA, including the Pao collection HK, the Venet Collection, and SUPREME NY.
#Retouched explores the disparate meanings of touch and the act of something being retouched. Touching a person’s body can be comforting, empathetic and a form of connection; however, it can also be unwelcoming, forceful, and demeaning. Retouching is a technique that makes alterations to an image, eliminating an imperfection and implying that an improvement has been made. We have the ability to change ourselves and our environments in the physical and digital spaces, but who are we ameliorating for? Using AI powered or synthetic intelligence to use different techniques such as clone stamping, zoom quilting, liquifying, photo compositing, and digital matte painting, the artworks use a hybridization of recognizable signs, pop culture symbols, and androgynous figures that shift between the familiar and uncanny, the primordial and the
futurist, nostalgia and hope.
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#Retouched was organized in partnership with CADAF.
