City slicker artists

City slicker artists

By Kara Bertoncini

Marco and Debra Luccio have been together for 17 years and from the very start both shared the same goal: to be professional artists.

Having spent a lot of time overseas, particularly in New York and Paris, Marco and Debra have come to realise how beautiful Melbourne is and how enriched with art our city is.

Marco’s work focuses on landscapes and cityscapes and, ever since making his first image of Melbourne as a student at RMIT, he has been engaging with architects and builders.

“For 20-odd years, I’ve been getting on rooftops around Melbourne, so Melbourne’s always been the focus of my work,” he said.

“I’ve worked on site a lot with architects and so I’ve had a lot of interest in the architecture of Melbourne and that’s been a really big thing for me,” he said.

Marco and Debra live in Melbourne’s CBD and are continually astonished about how amazing life is.

“We lived in the country for a few years after being in New York. We couldn’t do it. We missed the pollution and being able to do things. It’s so amazing living in the city when you have so much access to stuff,” Debra said.

“I think there’s something amazing about the CBD. Melbourne covers everything and there are still little pockets where you can get away,” Marco said.

The married artists have witnessed the growth and change of Melbourne over the years and say that, as artists, they are constantly seeing the world in a different light.

“I think Melbourne has changed for the better over the years. I like all the different architecture. I think, overall, we have such a variety and I think it’s one of the most beautiful cities because of that variety,” Marco said.

“I love that we’re artists because we get to see the world so differently. We are constantly seeing things that other people don’t get to see, both visually and conceptually.”

Debra said: “Some of our favourite buildings are still here but they’re building and bringing in some new things that we like as well.”

Throughout their highly acclaimed work Marco and Debra always stay true to their artistic integrity and always inspire each other to seek change and diversity.

“What tends to happen is that artists become settled and the idea is to keep challenging and maintaining integrity,” Marco said.

“He really inspires me and vice versa. Artists tend to fear change but we just push each other. It’s so important to just do it,” Debra said.

Marco’s upcoming exhibition Respiro will be showing at the Steps Gallery in Carlton from July 8.

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