“THE FINAL BOSS IS DEATH”: AN INTERVIEW WITH NERO

by Emma Riva
Cover image: thorns, Nero.

There are few artists in Pittsburgh making work as provocative as Michael “Nero” Lotenero is. You won’t see a painting of a chair made of human bones and teeth in many other places around the city, or work as explicit as venture capitalist Peter Thiel with blood dripping from his face in a painting titled “4 lectures on the Antichrist.”

Yes, the paintings are gory and often grim, but Nero is not making work just to provoke–he’s just genuinely interested in the macabre and his work has something visceral to say. His father, who you may recognize as also named Michael Lotenero, is one of the city’s most prolific painters, and while there are similarities between their painting styles, Nero has a voice all his own.

I had the opportunity to see some of Nero’s paintings on view this past weekend and felt it necessitated further conversation. The below is an interview with Nero, exploring some of the themes in his paintings and his experiences an artist. – ER

Petrichor: What made you want to paint macabre or horror-themed images? Do you like horror films/novels? What do you think people can learn from seeing these darker or more grotesque paintings?

Nero: I don’t think I ever made a decision to paint scary things, it’s just all I know. I remember when I was a young kid my neighbor was watching us and she saw me drawing my usual horrors and she said “can’t you draw some flowers or a pretty girl or something else,” haha. 

As far as media inspiration goes, I’m entirely obsessed with horror movies. My favorite classics are The Thing, Exorcist, The Shining, and Alien. More contemporary I loved the Witch, Talk to Me, and Weapons. I think we’re going through a horror renaissance right now, there was a lot of bad ones in the early 2000’s but now it feels like the highest-brow of films in my opinion have been horror films. 

I know Francis Bacon’s work definitely has an influence on yours, but what are some of the other artists who have influenced you? 

I get the Bacon comparison a lot especially to his early works. I love him. I am inspired by Kahlo, Ken Currie, Condo, Giger, and Bosch. Each of them I think are super important because there are so very few of us in this genre. Even with the Bacon comparisons, I feel like it’s easy because there’s only been a few horror-themed successful artists in art history. I think that is there biggest inspiration to me. That you can make these dark images and still be displayed in big establishments. That’s important.

Since you’re a tattoo artist as well, what are some of the similarities and differences between tattooing on skin and making work on canvas?

There are almost no similarities. It’s a completely different experience. One is very loose and one is very serious. I am working hard to further my abstract tattoo style that I’ve been developing to kind of push tattooing into the fine art world. There’s so many talented tattooers out there making insane things, and that inspires me. That someday our art form will be taken more seriously by art world people. 

“It is nice even when people are upset by my work though because at least they didn’t feel indifferent about my work.”

I loved the hellhound or Doberman-looking dogs that showed up in the work in your recent show. How do symbols like that appear in your paintings? 

I am so happy that you saw the dogs in my work as symbolic. That’s exactly the intent. I take great care to research and involve symbolism into every piece. It makes me happy to see that some people look at my work on that level. 

“Self doubt and my generation’s fear of being cringe have destroyed a generation of artists.”

You wrote that your recent painting rap!$t$, murd3r3r$, and billionaires in hell was one that people either loved or hated. Are there other works people have found really polarizing? What was it like having people respond so intensely to a painting?

Yes, the polarizing pieces are fun. They stress me out, I don’t like to read the negative comments I’m a very sensitive person. But I think in today’s art world landscape if you’re not making people mad. then no one cares unfortunately. It is nice even when people are upset by my work though because at least they didn’t feel indifferent about my work. 

What makes your sixth show, Nero 6 Nemesis, different from the others? The video game concept where you’re your own enemy is interesting. What did it look like for you to “beat the final boss” with the work? 

The final boss to defeat is death, but the one right before that is myself. Self doubt for me needed to be conquered to have this show. Thats what makes it different from the rest. The other shows I was excited and knew that I wanted to have a show. This year I had so many devils in my ear telling me not to have it. But I knew it would only get worse if I didn’t put my work out there. Self doubt and my generation’s fear of being cringe have destroyed a generation of artists. 

Nero’s work can be seen at 60 E Crafton Avenue, where he also tattoos.

This month’s articles are produced with support from the Frick Pittsburgh in conjunction with their landmark exhibition The Scandinavian Home: Landscape and Lore. Get cozy as the seasons change with David and Susan Warner’s collection of paintings, tapestries, and sculptures from around the Nordic region. Tickets now on sale.