FRANK ORITI

Frank Oriti was born in 1983 and raised in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his BFA in Two-Dimensional Studies from Bowling Green State University in 2006 and returned to his hometown.  After working in one of Cleveland’s steel mills for a year and a half, he attended Ohio University where he began creating images inspired by his experiences in the blue-collar work force. He graduated from Ohio University with his MFA in Painting in 2011. 

Oriti has had solo shows in Cleveland, New York, and Los Angeles with work also featured in numerous group shows like the BP Portrait Award in London’s National Portrait Gallery and MOCA Jacksonville’s show “Get Real.”  His work continues to be exhibited and acquired by collections, both public and private, all over the world.  He currently lives and works in Lakewood, Ohio.

"?My current work is inspired by America’s blue-collar culture in which I am surrounded.   
Through still life and portraiture, I focus on a myriad of daily elements that continue to encompass and define our lives.  

Within these constructed images, materials such as denim, leather, and tattooed flesh present themselves regularly.  With paint, I explore the materiality of these items - recreating a visual history of how they rip, tear, scuff, fade, break down and evolve over time."