In a tiny studio on Broad Street sits years’ worth of a story. Wandering heroes, blood-red sun-soaked landscapes and beautiful women, seductress or heroine or both, wait. The story hasn’t been written yet.
For the next month, the works of Bronx native and Charleston fixture Julio Cotto will be on display at Scoop Studio at 57 1/2 Broad Street in an exhibit titled “The Day the Peacemaker Made Peace.”
The title is a reference to a multi-paneled set of paintings Cotto created featuring a lone mustachioed hero on horseback. The set served as inspiration for many more paintings with stories of their own, which Cotto hopes to eventually weave into a graphic novel.
“I’ll come up with pieces of stories sometimes and this novel will be the first time I’ve tried to string all these stories together. It’s a challenge for sure but I’m really excited about it,” says Cotto.
He’s not taking the challenge lightly, opting to use as much time as he needs, exploring other projects in the meantime.
“I’ve recently been checking out some of Edward Gorey late stuff lately,” says Cotto of the late illustrator and writer, “and I’ve been wanting to do some children’s books for adults, maybe Shell Siverstein-esque.”
Cotto’s vivid use of colors and contrast would certainly make a striking image in any children’s story but the artist’s attraction to the relationship between image and narrative doesn’t end there. He’ll be creating anywhere from half a dozen to a dozen pieces inspired by the work of local poet, Jonathan Sanchez, for a contemporary show at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park in May.
“I’m excited to be in the show; younger people have known about my work for some time but I’m excited an older crowd will get to see it, maybe for the first time,” says Cotto.
Special to his exhibit at Scoop are the sci-fi drawings of his grandfather, Abednego Rivera.
“He was the father figure for me, I would sit next to him and watch him draw while I drew Snoopy and little Peanuts characters,” says Cotto, “I wanted to show his influence upon me.”
Scoop isn’t the only place to find Cotto’s work; you can find it around Charleston in various restaurants and galleries but it’s certainly the smallest. His colors are almost bursting from the building and certainly worth your time.