Marco Host

Illustrator, painter, artist, born in 1973, Marco Host began his artistic studies at the local Istituto d’Arte in Massa. After high school, he started working as an illustrator for local advertising graphics. In the late 1990s, Marco realized he wanted to move beyond the traditional context of illustration, blending all the techniques at his disposal (acrylic, oil painting, decoupage, etc.). Driven by this powerful urge, he began seeking work that dealt with the themes of the human body, particularly as an expression of movement, a concept that only great contemporary illustrators like Frazetta and Rockwell had managed to define.

He then met Simone Bianchi, an illustrator and comic book artist for Marvel and DC Comics. This encounter pushed Marco, driven by an increasing desire to improve his techniques, to participate in several workshops in New York, led by internationally renowned illustrators and comic book artists. Following this American experience, a sort of alter ego began to take shape within him, also due to certain events that caused great suffering in his sensitive soul. Thus, Homo Sapiens was born. Over time, Marco Host, as he signs his classically illustrated paintings, became distinctly separate from the figure of Homo Sapiens, whose technique is characterized by dark tones. The difference between the two styles gradually became evident: under the name Marco Host, he represents what he wishes to be, a serene and smiling man; with the alter ego Homo Sapiens, he expresses his current emotions, his inner suffering, and turmoil.

His characters began to be surrounded by a mythical aura, filled with veiled atmospheres and slow, measured gestures. He draws inspiration from 1950s Hollywood films that contributed to the success of the Noir genre.