Morucchio with the series Puzzling My Top Pop Icons selects one hundred celebrities from the world of entertainment (music, cinema, sports) who since the 1970s have inevitably accompanied in the decades to come and in some way influenced the development of the artist’s imaginative sphere as well as that of many of his age.
The artist brings to life a personal “Pantheon” of “deities” created by the Entertainment Society in the last fifty years; an exclusive selection of musicians, actors and sportsmen who, while belonging to the dominant communicative system possess cultural depth, qualities and abilities immensely superior to their contemporary counterparts imposed by mainstream propaganda on a public increasingly less capable of critically evaluating what is imposed on them on unified networks.
This fusion of iconic images with the delicate beauty of the color fields of butterfly wing details adds depth and symbolism to the portraits, inviting viewers to contemplate the complexity and influence of these figures in our collective imagination.
Morucchio takes inspiration from the spirit of Andy Warhol and, unlike the majority of artists who ascribe to the purely commercial trend of NeoPop art -- see Mr. Brainwash and his immitators -- he does not slavishly immitate or reiterate the techniques and style of Pop Art with very questionable variations, but uses his personal technique and aesthetic developed with the Puzzling Pop Project to create a new series of artworks that represents a contemporary celebration and reflection on the influence and importance of pop culture icons, carrying forward Warhol's innovative spirit into our digital age.