A successful artist is more than a master of their medium.
They also know how to navigate the art world — how to present a portfolio, how to describe a body of work in an artist’s statement, how to place a work on the wall of a gallery to catch the eye of a customer or collector.
Vince Livecchi, a visual arts and media communication senior at UToledo, is one of four emerging artists featured in the exhibition ARToledo, running through June 22 at 20 North Gallery in downtown Toledo.
In her art course, Professional Practices, Deborah Orloff teaches these sorts of nuts and bolts by walking students through the process of preparing a portfolio for submission to a real-life juried show.
For Vince Livecchi, a visual arts and media communication senior who completed the course in fall semester, it would prove more than an academic exercise. Livecchi is one of four emerging artists featured in the exhibition ARToledo, running through Saturday, June 22, at 20 North Gallery in downtown Toledo.
“It’s definitely a different experience to be in a gallery rather than a school exhibition,” said Livecchi, whose previous credits include the Juried Student Exhibition and the University Libraries Art Student Showcase at The University of Toledo. “It gives me a little bit more confidence looking toward graduation. I can actually see myself doing this six months from now.”
Livecchi, of Oregon, followed a family legacy and a passion for art to UToledo beginning in 2020. He was painting, photographing and exploring other artistic media long before he arrived at the Center for the Visual Arts, the Frank Gehry-designed home to the Department of Art that’s located adjacent to the Toledo Museum of Art. But he credits his professors there with helping him to grow and develop as an artist.
“When I first started as a freshman, I wasn’t really sure of myself. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to make,” Livecchi said. “My classes and my professors really helped coach me and find out what kind of artist I wanted to be.”
Livecchi since has been active in the Department of Art, contributing works to the Annual Digital Billboard Exhibition in collaboration with the local outdoor advertising company Lamar in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and the Juried Student Exhibition and the inaugural University Libraries Art Student Showcase in 2023.
ARToledo opened at 20 North Gallery with a reception on April 19. Livecchi credits his inclusion to the portfolio he prepared and submitted as a course requirement under Orloff, professor of photography and associate chair of the Department of Art.
“Vince is a great student,” Orloff said. “He impressed immediately with his meaningful contributions to class discussions and conscientious attention to details. He’s surprisingly self-assured and articulate for his age.
Vince Livecchi is exhibiting a collection of macro photography — extreme closeups of subjects like dandelions and tree bark, magnified nearly or completely to abstraction.
“Vince strikes me as someone who will set ambitious goals for himself and passionately achieve them,” she continued. “His application to the 20 North Gallery exhibition, for example, was above and beyond the expectation I had for my students when I required them to submit to a juried show for my Professional Practices course. The gallery’s submission requirements were equivalent to a solo show proposal — a much more extensive application that’s generally only undertaken by professionals.”
ARToledo is notable as the first exhibition at a commercial gallery for each of its featured artists: Austin Lipowski, Paul Lyon and Yuemin Xin, in addition to Livecchi.
The UToledo student is exhibiting a collection of macro photography — extreme closeups of subjects like dandelions and tree bark, magnified nearly or completely to abstraction. Livecchi created the lens himself and took the photographs as a series last summer.
“I really was exploring the textures and the detail that you can see at that level of magnification,” he said. “It’s presenting the beauty of nature in a way that you don’t normally see. I wanted the viewer to be submersed in a different world.”
Livecchi is on track to graduate in December, and is interested in pursuing a career in video production while continuing to develop himself as an artist.
He’s optimistic this gallery exhibition won’t be his last.
20 North Gallery is located at 18 N. St. Clair St., Toledo, and open from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and by appointment. Each work on display is available for purchase. For information on ARToledo, including a link to the online catalog, go to the 20 North Gallery website.
