Vincent Giarrano is an American realist painter and former comic book artist, born in Buffalo, New York, in 1960. After earning his BFA from the State University of New York in 1982 and an MFA from Syracuse University in 1985, he began a career as an illustrator for major publishers like Marvel and DC Comics, where he worked on titles featuring characters such as Spider-Man and Batman. This early career significantly shaped his artistic vision, instilling in him a strong sense of narrative that he would later apply to his fine art paintings. Around the year 2000, Giarrano shifted his focus back to fine arts and began working primarily in oil painting, drawing on his memories of living and working in New York City as inspiration.
Today, Giarrano is known for his narrative-focused oil paintings of contemporary New York City life, often portraying fleeting, everyday moments and the experiences of modern women within an urban environment. His work is characterized by a "realism" that extends beyond mere visuals to capture the mood and sincerity of a scene, with a particular focus on capturing light and using a composition that mimics how the human eye perceives a scene. While he credits his comic book background for the storytelling quality in his work, Giarrano prefers to create open-ended and ambiguous narratives, allowing viewers to interpret the stories for themselves. His paintings have been exhibited in prestigious venues both in the United States and internationally, including the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., and its counterpart in London.
