Volume One
Art by Todd “The Toddfather” Brizzi
Opening July 2nd 4:00PM to 10:00PM
Contact:
Whitney Webre
4505 Harford Road
Baltimore, MD 21214
(443) 449-7630
chrmdlife5@gmail.com
Charmed Life Studio is proud to present Volume One the first gallery show by the Logo Pimp of Lauraville, Todd Brizzi. If you live in Baltimore and have eyes, then you have probably seen work by the Toddfather. It’s quite possible that you have some of his work in your house right now. Because everybody loves Todd, we’ve decided to do something special for his opening, our first Art Opening Barbecue. July 2nd, 4:00PM to 10:00PM we will have grilled meat, cold beverages and live music. As always, this event is free and fun for all ages.
Todd’s interest in graphic design began early. His father worked for an advertising company in New Jersey. “My dad took me to work and they had these books of paste-ups. You had to take scissors and cut these graphics out and paste them onto your work. As a kid I thought that was the coolest.” He graduated from MICA with a BFA in 1991 and immediately started working in the video game industry. Early in his career Todd hand rendered graphics for MicroProse Software, working on titles such as Civilization and 1942: Pacific Airwar. His early years in the game industry taught him to work with limited resources, such as a 256 color palate. By the mid-nineties, Todd had moved to working on military flight simulators for EA. At this point, the work had become more technical in nature and rather procedural. “The early years in the game industry were very free. It taught me that nothing was permanent; everything could be changed with the click of a mouse”..
Todd began doing freelance graphic design for local rock band The Tombs. His flier and T-shirt work appeared all over Baltimore. His most ubiquitous work came in 2005 when he designed the logo for Zeke’s Coffee. In 2008 Todd stopped working for the video game industry and began doing freelance design work. His work includes almost every logo in Northeast Baltimore, fliers for local fairs, farmer markets, roller derby teams, schools, and just about anything else he can do. “A friend described my work as very masculine, and East Coast street. I’m not sure how street it is, but it is definitely not West Coast.” His logo work uses few colors and lines to create bold images. He is a master of font choice, frequently manipulating existing fonts and occasionally creating his own. His poster work combines those elements with an impeccable sense of placement and flow. Todd’s work is influenced by comic book artists Charles Burns and Robert Crumb. He is also inspired his friends, especially Hungry Knife Collective founder Guy Sparger, and tattoo artist George “Fudgie” Dobbs.
Todd Brizzi lives in Northeast Baltimore, where he and his wife raise triplets. When he isn’t drawing Ganesh or keeping three kids in line, he works as a Master Coffee Roaster for Zeke’s Coffee. His art can be seen at: www.facebook.com/pages/Toddfather-Art/123415444398926
