Nicola FilippoNicola Filippo was born in Peoria, Illinois. Little is known of his early years; when interviewed about his childhood, Filippo refers to it as "a chaotic household" and an "unconventional childhood". He attended Otis College of Art and Design and theCalifornia College of the Arts. Upon completing his education, he traveled extensively in Italy, visiting many museums and churches and studying what had been done by earlier artists and seeking to incorporate it in his style. In the mid 1990s Filippo surfaced as a painter and sculptor of what he refers to as building blocks of his art work today. Much of this early work was destroyed by the artist. A pivotal point in Filippo's art career was when he photographed a collection of collage pieces by the artist Ray Johnson for the 1999 Whitney Museum exhibit of Johnson's art work New York. Nicola Filippo's collage pieces began to gain moderate attention; however due to the playful erotic content, the art work remained taboo for mainstream galleries. Some of the earliest shows were through the Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles. Though not specifically homo-erotic the free use of genital representation on both his male and female figures was an obstacle many galleries are shied away from. In 2007, Filippo's work was shown by Sex Art Gallery in Amsterdam, 2010 at Parlor Gallery in Asbury Park, 2012 12 Inches of Sin at the Sin City Gallery in Las Vegas, Nevada, 2014 12 Inches of Sin-Le Salon Des Refuses Du Peche at the Sin City Gallery in Las Vegas, Nevada, 2015 12 Inches of Sin-Le Salon Des Refuses Du Peche at the Sin City Gallery in Las Vegas, Nevada and 2016 12 Inches of Sin-Immersive at the Sin City Gallery in Las Vegas, Nevada, 2017 12 Inches of Sin VI at the Sin City Gallery in Las Vegas, Nevada . In addition to fine art Nicola Filippo began in 2010 to explore advertising work for firms such as Serino Coyne. He designed the cover art for the book jacket cover of Everywhere Hollywood; A Memoir By Gerald Ayres in 2016. Early supporters and patrons of Nicola Filippo's art include his spouse writer and producer Gerald Ayres (m.2013), art historian Hunter Drohojowska-Philp, curator Lisa Lyons and film maker Agnes Varda. Read More Read Less