The beauty of New York City is in the transient culture it fosters and attracts. Last year, according to NYC & Company, over 50.4 million visited the city, at least 10.6 million coming from foreign countries. You hear New Yorkers complain all the time about overcrowded, tourist-ridden streets, but what would our amazing city be if it not for the influence of its visitors?
New York lures some of the most creative and talented minds from all over. The art culture of New York is a case in point. I recently met two up-and-coming artists visiting from Montreal, Canada, Davide Luciano and Claudia Ficca. In their short time here in New York both photographers have found their way. Their plan was to network as much as possible: attending gallery openings and meeting with curators for Davide and contacting agencies and food stylists for Claudia.
Claudia has been shooting food professionally for 4 years now. She started getting food styling opportunities in Montréal and really fell in love with the craft. Coming to NYC meant having the chance to work for all the magazines she adored, getting hands-on food styling experience on big sets and having the opportunity to shoot for bigger clients. That idea alone was enough for her to pack her bags. "I was really apprehensive at first, I had visited NYC many times but I didn't know how I would feel about living in such a big city.”
Davide is a conceptual and fine-art photographer and filmmaker. “I treat my photography as I would a film: from the pre-production to the printing process, everything is planned. I love working with a specialized team of fellow artists from make-up artists to set designers, depending on the project.”
Their time in New York has been productive. Claudia continues to shoot food for magazines, restaurants and various food companies in NYC, Toronto and Montréal. On Wednesday she is photographing a restaurant (from the Patina Restaurant Group) in Manhattan while Davide is hanging up his work for a solo show at the Smile Design Gallery in Manhattan, opening Wednesday at 7:30pm. "The journey has been a hell of a ride," says Claudia. "I feel lucky that Davide and I are in it together because I think that without each other's support we may have given up on our dreams".
Below are some of the selected works from Davide Luciano.
Selected photos from 'Sheep Nation':
Selected photos from 'Potholes':