BIO Sarajevo. Meeting point between East and West. World War I began here. The XIV Winter Olympic games also took place here. It was a place of major mayor ethic conflict. Conflict whose ghost emerges in the art of Paco Raque Rosic. Born in 1979, Paco spent his first 12 years of life in a suburb of the once magnificent Sarajevo. He had his first art exhibit there. It was at a local hospital. He painted birds on the wall to take his mind off the pain of the needles that shot pain into his behind and those of many other children. (Do not try to commission him to paint birds as he still equates them with pain to this day.) His last memories of the land of his birth are not pleasant ones. Being shuffled through safe houses. The passing of monies from their family savings into the hands of people who were to guide them to safety. In these memories are darkness and discomfort. Paco and his family emerged from this darkness into the light of Ludwigshafen, Germany. It was 1992, Paco was now a teenager. Impressionable. In a new land with new friends and new territory. Territory which he would claim as his own with the infamous b-boy group known as the Unique Wizzards. Germany felt good. But Germany was not the final stop. "You learn to live for just tommorrow. Without identity. Without country, " Paco says. Germany and it's culture had cast a spell on this young Wizzard with unique talents of his own as a dancer and artist. Talents that were just beginning to shine. And then he is told that he must pack. That he must leave his new love behind. His family was moving to a community in the United States where many Bosnians had already settled. In September of 1997 the Rosic Family arrives in Waterloo. Paco falls into a depression, missing his life in Germany. To deal with the grief he starts to work at graffiti, an art form of expression he had picked up from his German friends. Paco shared these sketches with instructors at a local community college and soon the word gets out about this young Bosnian spray paint artist. For three years he develops his techique and works on community projects including tagging garbage trucks, and walls of abandoned buildings as city works projects. His work became the center of public outcry when he was commissioned to paint the interior and exterior of a building in downtown Cedar Falls, Iowa. This event worked to Paco's benefit when local newspapers displayed his work on the front pages of their Metro sections. While the traditional graffiti styles were fun to work with and the projects too were fun, paco was feeling that he could take these tools that he had worked for years to perfect, and create a new artistic style. Where traditional artists used oil on canvas-Paco would prime his canvas and use spray paint. Now he moved through many different genres to stretch his wings from nudes and erotica, to portraiture, paintings of Hollywood icons, and amazing atmospheric renderings of scenes in Europe. Paco's work has caught the eye of galleries in LA, Chicago, New York, Germany and of course in Waterloo, Iowa. The city of Waterloo is located in the middle of the United States. If you visit there you will find Paco has left his mark throuhout the city. Grab an espresso at the Oasis Coffee Bars in Cedar Falls or Waterloo and you will see his work. If you are looking for fine dining, then you will find Paco at Cu ("Copper") where his paintings grace each table along with a mural and the menu designs. If you know the folks at Fastservers net you might get a ride in their Rosic decorated bus. The Waterloo Art Museum has also been a friend to Paco featuring regular exhibitions and commissioned works. Recently he and his family became U.S. citizens. "Now we have a country," Paco says. "To me this is the greatest country. I work my ass off here. But what I get back- friends, my family, a house, my art. America is the only place you can do this." Paco continues to work hard. Whenever he is inspired he is working. Whenever he is commissioned he is working. He is obsessed with his art and constantly looking at ways to push the boundaries of his craft.   SHOWS |NEW WEBSITE |VIEW & PURCHASE ARTWORK | VIDEOS| HOME | SISTINE CHAPEL PROJECT | PACO ROSIC BIO | PRESS | CONTACT Galleria de Paco :: 622 Commercial Street :: Waterloo, IA 50701 :: 319.610.8222 :: pacorosic@mchsi.com All Materials Copyright © 2006 PACO ROSIC