THE RIDE
Gino Mazzarella is a Niagara-based visual artist who specializes in oil painting. His passion for art began as a child and flourished as a teen after being influenced by artist Salvador Dali and the surrealist movement, pop art, and the illustrations and graphics used for record jackets and music posters during the 1960 and 1970s. A graduate of the Ontario College of Art (OCAD) in Toronto, Canada, he completed a four-year program in Communication and Design, majoring in Fine Art, before working as an illustrator, graphic designer and art director for multiple art studios and ad agencies based in Toronto and the Niagara Region. Gino’s designs have been featured in regional and national ad campaigns. He has also won multiple ACE AWARDS from The Advertising and Sales Club of Hamilton. Interested in how fine art has transitioned into commercial art and design and its impact on modern society, he is influenced by Renaissance artists: Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Hieronymus Bosch and Albrecht Dürer; Canadian realists; and industrial design. Gino currently resides with his wife and has three children. When not painting, he enjoys: spending time with family; listening to music; visiting museums and classic car shows; exploring Ontario; travelling; hiking; and following sports.