NOVEMBER 14TH, 2023

Colonna Contemporary is a contemporary art gallery dedicated to bridging the worlds of traditional and digital art. Located in Wayne, PA, Colanna Contemporary is more than just a physical space. It offers collectors an unparalleled opportunity to explore the most advanced trends and technologies available today. By seamlessly blending these two art worlds, we can uncover new dimensions of creativity and redefine the artistic landscape.

The path that led me to a small local art gallery (Colonna Contemporary) to meet an artist I didn’t know (Space Case/ADHD), who lives down the street from me and played guitar in two bands I grew up listening to, started twenty years ago.

It’s strange how web3, or even art, makes the world smaller. Plenty talk about how it creates community by connecting strangers across the globe with similar interests, tastes, and even beliefs. Still, few discuss how strangers find each other in the ether of the internet only to discover they’ve known each other all along. I’ve known the work of Colin Frangicetto long before I knew the art of ADHD, who also happens to be Colin Frangicetto. 

It’s hard not to write about Colin’s art without talking about Colin’s music. Once you connect the dots between the musician and the visual artist it’s obvious that one cannot exist without the other. Just like the guitar Colin played for bands This Day Forward and Circa Survive, there is a sharp, ravaging tone (sometimes literally) that is palpable throughout his works. 

Colin’s show at Colonna Contemporary entitled A Noisy Mind showcases palpable depictions of the emotional and physical experiences of an artist, musician, and human being. Attendees can experience Colin’s tinnitus in Constant Companion, an iPod mounted to a pure white painting on wood that plays the tone of his tinnitus on an infinite loop. Homesick I & II are collections of stolen hotel keys mounted on wood; an arrangement of magnetic keys contrasts the pull of home from Colin’s years spent touring.

Two of his larger pieces 7300 Days of Xanax and 10959 Days of Adderall reveal the attempts at medicating away the mental noise in his head. Each work features an enlarged Xerox copy of prescription bottles with one line of paint for each day on the medication. The daunting task of maintaining focus and persevering to create these works is dwarfed only by the lifetime depicted taking these medications and the emotional fortitude spent battling anxiety and ADHD. 

Pink Noise

Common Companion

Homesick I

Homesick II

7300 Days of Xanax

10959 Days of Adderall

Almost everyone who enters web3 starts at the bottom. Those with larger followings who achieve outside success and gravitate towards web3 come with polished marketing and a built-in audience. Colin started on the bottom, like most of us, and began to work his way up the hierarchy ladder; just as he’s done with his bands before. This lends authenticity to Colin’s art. When traditional institutions, web2 entities, or popular personalities entire web3 there’s often a surge to hop on the bandwagon. So desperate are we to validate our belief in web3 we quickly anoint them based on previous success so that it may translate to our digital world. This lack of necessary struggle leaves whatever creation is being brought to web3 reeking of an opportunistic money-grab. But, when it is authentic and it is true, it resonates with the audience. 

ADHD’s art rings true like nickel-plated guitar strings vibrating through a distortion pedal on a mix CD your girlfriend made, playing on your dad’s car stereo while your friend asks, “Who is this?” and you answer, “Circa Survive.” 

Twenty years later I sat next to Colin, when he would casually brush off the fact that he was in a band. Thinking nothing of it I’ll ask what the name of that band and, and when he answers, I’ll remember listening to his band to drown out the noise in my head by filling it with the noise from his. 

Whether utilizing music to drown out the mental noise or emptying those thoughts through creative expression, ADHD finds profound ways to share his experience with other noisy-minded fans.