I AM MARIO LAYNE FABRIZIO

YOU ARE ON A NEW ADVENTURE.

VISUAL ARTIST, COMPOSER, DRUMMER, PERCUSSIONIST, FILMMAKER,WRITER

“Fabrizio’s paintings are unrestrained, revealing complex layers of vulnerability tucked within each stroke.” (Beverly Aarons, Arists Up Close)

Around the world MARIO has been presented with The Whitney Museum, Salzburg Jazz Festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Panama Jazz Festival, Birdland, Kunming’s International Drum Festival, Seattle Art Museum, and the Kennedy Center.

He has performed with musicians such as Cecil Mcbee, Claudio Roditi, Nilson Matta, Santi DeBriano, Joe Morris, Ali Boulo Santo Cissoko, Jason Palmer, Oran Etkin, Noah Preminger and Volker Goetze.

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NEW MUSIC WILL BE RELEASED WITH MARIO’S GROUPS, “THE STAR GONDOLA” and “KOSTOCHKI” in the coming months.. KEEP A LOOK OUT!

MARIO’S co-led ensemble TROPOS with Phillip Golub can be found here.

Works he’s premiered include The Black Clown at American Repertory Theatre, Arturo O'Farrill’s Little Tiny Walls and showcasing in Jason Moran’s STAGED exhibition.

London Jazz News describes him pretty accurately as "ferocious but subtle," and Steve Smith of On The Record says that he presents “with assurance, charisma and infectious enthusiasm.”

You can find MARIO speak about intuition, ritual and creativity with CREATIVE MORNINGS here.

Compositions of his have been acknowledged by the NYTIMES, ALLMUSIC, FRANCEMUSIQUE and you may find in depth interviews about his visual art and multimedia works that are said to be “surreal, trippy dreamscapes” (Seattle Met) in SEATTLEREFINED & KOMO NEWS as the artist of the week, JazzTimes and Earshot.

MARIO’s works have been commissioned by National Sawdust, MadArt for a triptych mural project and Seattle Art Museum for its annual Party in the Park

Poetry and language exists to MARIO as a means of compressing abstract thought into stories, some of which are his published poetry in Art and Letters and his features at Boston’s Intercollegiate Poetry Festival and Grolier.

He has won awards, grants, and/or fellowships with YoungArts, MassMOCA, Assets for Artists, Jack Straw Cultural Center, Mass Cultural Council, San Francisco EBCP and the Foundation for Contemporary Art. MARIO graduated with a BA in Jazz Studies from Boston’s prestigious New England Conservatory in 2018 and throughout that time, he studied with an array of teachers: Jabali Billy Hart, Cecil McBee, Joe Morris, Vijay Iyer and Jason Moran. Studies before college were also formative and inspiring as he worked through the various programs with New Jersey’s Jazz House Kids ,a jazz and community program run by Melissa Walker and Christian McBride.

The idea of the Renaissance Man is often overused in modern contexts. However, the concept of the ‘universal man’ is rooted in a more expansive, humanistic philosophy that could offer a deep well of value to today’s multidisciplinary artist. When Baldassare Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier was published in 1528, it both captured and shaped the ideals of the Renaissance era which emphasized the importance of a broad and well-rounded education. According to Castiglione, a courtier should have a deep knowledge of the arts, literature, music, and sciences. This holistic approach to personal development reflects the Renaissance belief in the interconnectedness of all forms of knowledge and creativity, suggesting that true excellence arises from the integration of diverse skills and disciplines. These ideals provide validation and guidance for today’s multidisciplinary artist, who is often confronted with the belief that ‘a jack of all trades is a master of none.’ However, the full quote reminds us that ‘a jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.’ (Beverly Aarons, Arists Up Close)

BRIEF PERSONAL ARTISTIC STATEMENT

My work is a sort of alchemy, I am creating works that breathe and possess consciousness. Each piece is like a diary entry or a tarot reading offering invitations to wander, to wonder, to lead life with the intuition. Through paintings, sculptures, moving images, and music, I am creating multimedia fairy tales—narratives that shift as my life unfolds, as if they, too, are alive, dancing to rhythms. They aren’t just for me, but for people as reminders of truth within. These works are born of dreams and the ideas of gravity - things must fall where they do because of a grand design that desires each piece to be where it must. One color must land in a specific place because of the gravity of it in comparison to other objects, textures and colors.

To paint is to sculpt: I build up layers sometimes only to carve them away. This allows the work to reveal itself as if it had always existed, like a secret whispered by the wind. This process mirrors my fascination with dreams which hold the keys to our waking lives. Dreams in modern society are a forgotten language, a world of truths so personal that they defy translation directly, but with training they host absolute truth. I strive to bridge this realm with the awake and tangible.

Jazz and its history of thought leaders and commitment to the tradition of commitment to innovation, with boundless improvisation and understanding of freedom, is the pulse of my practice. The geniuses that invented and pushed to more avant-garde realms taught me to embrace spontaneity, listen intensely, always trust the moment, and to find beauty in the unplanned. Jazz is a rebellion against rigidity, a living art form that mirrors the unpredictability of existence. Like musical improvisation, my works are never fixed; they evolve, revealing new meanings, new perspectives, as if it, too, is alive.

My training as a percussionist helped me understand how to give my paintings movement, rhythm, and timing. The physicality of drumming— its dance, its demand for presence, precision, and instinctive connection to rhythm translates to my approach with color, texture, and composition. Just as silence is vital in music, I use space, texture, and gravity to create tension and release, a very sensual kind that guides the viewer’s eye to a dance but also invites them to play I SPY. This has extended to my desire to understand dimensionality. The way you look at my pieces is not fixed, there are a multitude of ways to look and you will always find something that can be displayed as figurative like characters and words and combinations of such.

Music is sacred.

Music has taught me to cherish the fleeting, to find beauty in what cannot be held to allow things to evolve and be free. Like musical improvisation, my works are layered with hidden depths and multiple dimensions, inviting viewers to return and discover something new each time like a treasure hunt.

Magic, mystery, and adventure are the cornerstones of my life and art. They remind me that creation is an innate desire—a leap into the unknown, a journey into the jungle of mystery. My works are not merely about materials or color; they are about conjuring magic, sparking joy, and forging soul connections or as we can say in the words of Bowie, “Soul Love”. They challenge antiquated systems and open hearts, leaving room for mischief along the way.

Ultimately, my work is a celebration of creation itself—a reminder that we are magic, that we are free, and that we possess the power to transform the world through beauty. Life is too brief not to be lived in wonder. Let us go on adventures together, for creation of something new is an ultimate act of beauty of freedom. We are magic, and we are free!”