“The Run Up (Lifesize)” by New Jersey-based contemporary artist Joe Iurato, highlights his distinctly illustrative and clean style, which he creates through wooden cut-outs brought to life using detailed stencils and aerosol paint. Like many of Iurato’s sculptures, “The Run Up (Lifesize)” interacts with its display environment and is painted in a semi-realistic, comic book style. A little boy climbs his surroundings. His goal, as Iurato implies, is to use the spray paints in his backpack. Through color, subject, and imagery, the artwork encourages viewers to contemplate the faceless subject and his surroundings. This unique sculpture measures 56 inches tall by 24 inches wide.

Joe Iurato, born 1973, is a New Jersey-based artist known for his indoor and outdoor paintings, photographs, and sculptures. He began his career nearly 20 years ago with his outdoor wall paintings. Now working as a street, studio, and commercial contemporary artist, Iurato creates distinct narratives inspired from personal experiences that revolve around themes of economics, spirituality, and the playful nature of childhood. While maintaining a standard greyscale color palette, the artist experiments with scale, negative space, and bright pops of color among his artworks.