Patric Rozario

Personal life

Patric Rozario, the eldest of three children, was born in Selangor on 11 July 1964 to Catholic parents, Peter Rozario and Josephine Peter. Rozario is of Indian descent. He lost his youngest sibling at a very young age, leaving behind only his brother and himself. His father moved to Malaysia in 1957 from India. Rozario is married to Alka Alexander (in May 1993), and they have two sons Kushal Errol Patric (born in April 1995) and Ronak Noel Patric (born in December 1999).

Early life and education

Within a few months of being born in Klang - Selangor State of Malaysia, Rozario's parents relocated to Sabah, one of the two East Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. His father was based in Sandakan, as an agricultural officer for rubber and palm oil estates. It was there that Rozario received his early years of education at St. Gabriel's Primary School. Being located in a forest environment, nature became his exemplary and interactive tutor. His teachers and parents encouraged the observation of daily miracles of nature, and this had profound effects on building the foundation in his early education. In 1976, Rozario's parents decided that understanding ethnic roots and traditions was essential in his upbringing. Thus, both he and his younger brother Marshel Rozario, were admitted to a fine Christian school in Trivandrum, Kerala, India [4]. Sarvodaya Vidyalaya was where the brothers boarded and spent the rest of their schooling years. Rozario then continued to pursue a pre-degree in Science at Mar Ivanios College in Kerala before returning to Malaysia in 1986. His active life as an artist began here, albeit in its modest form. Rozario decided to pursue a career at sea, with the chief objective of visiting as many countries in the world as possible. He took up education in Maritime Radio Telegraphy and passed his exams from the Maritime Malaysian Academy. After his stint as a Maritime Officer with Singapore's national carrier, Rozario decided to further his education. He received a Diploma in Marketing Management from Institute of Marketing Malaysia [4], Kuala Lumpur. Rozario then proceeded to attain his Masters in Communication Management from the University of South Australia, Adelaide [4]. His extensive field in education has certainly made him a versatile and a knowledgeable individual.

Career

In 1987, Rozario sailed as a Radio Officer for Singapore's national carrier, Neptune Orient Lines [4]. During his tour of duty as an ocean going Maritime Officer, Rozario had visited over 60 countries over a period of eight years. He returned to Kuala Lumpur to start up an advertising design company called Grafik Trafik Sdn, Bhd. He was the Managing Director to his company for the next nine years. Rozario moved to Doha in 2005 when an opportunity arose for him to work as a Senior Creative Officer for United Development Company [5, p. 12]. He was responsible for the development of marketing plans and driving marketing programs for The Pearl-Qatar brand. In 2009, Rozario became the Marketing Manager for Tanween (Barwa Real Estate), a real estate development company. For the next few years, Rozario held two other positions with different companies. He was a Chief Strategist for Fahrenheit Communications, Bangalore for a year, before securing the position as a General Manager at Mohammed Nasr Al Misnad Trading WLL. He then ran an in-home art institution, called Art Explorers [6], teaching children and adult alike about art. In 2015, Rozario took a leap of faith and formed Aesthetic Arts Ltd. UK and took on the title Artist and Managing Partner.

Artistic breakthrough

When Rozario boarded the ship as a Merchant Navy Officer in 1987, he was exposed to a multitude of experiences; from diverse cultures and traditions of people around the world to the stunning vistas and landscapes of foreign lands. His eight years of travel has inspired many of his creations [4]. It is during his voyages, that he decided that he wanted to have a purpose in life. He started experimenting with various mediums to create paintings and pictures in his own unique style. Being isolated from the world for a prolonged time while at sea, the sailing challenges drove him to unleash his creativity and seek alternative means to deal with daily challenges. Even though art came naturally to him, Rozario only turned professional in the year 2000. An article in The Star Metro [7] dated 23 September 2000 announced to the Malaysian public and art fraternity that a new contemporary artist has risen with a totally new and surprising medium – Thread. The article was titled – 'Rozario Creates Magic With Thread'. This provided the encouragement and confidence for Rozario to abandon all other ventures and commence painting as a full-time artist. Soon, an art gallery in Kuala Lumpur heard about Rozario's new technique and medium of creativity. He was invited for a group exhibition entitled 'Five Expressions'. By the close of this one-month-long exhibition, Rozario was totally convinced that there was no more looking back, and that he will continue his lifelong passion as an artist.

Thread Art

Using spools of coloured thread, Rozario creates pictures on poster boards revealing texture in his unique creations. He uses glue and acrylic paint to hold the threads in place after meticulously distributing them to form the desired visuals. He was dubbed the 'Thread Artist' [7] in Malaysia. A solo exhibition of his Thread Art collection was displayed at The Art Publisher, Bangsar and another art gallery in Petaling Jaya. Rozario's Thread Art was featured as part of 'Five Expressions' Exhibition at the Art & Deco Frames, Kuala Lumpur.

Placid Sunday

In February 2008, Rozario painted and presented a portrait of Plácido Domingo to the world-renowned Spanish tenor during his majestic performance at The Pearl [5, p. 12]. The painting currently resides in Plácido Domingo's New York home.

Cloud Dance

Rozario created acrylic paintings on canvases showcasing prominent architectural landmarks in Doha with colourful clouds dancing in the background. Among the landmarks depicted in his paintings were the Museum of Islamic Art, the Sheraton Doha Hotel, and Katara. In March 2011, a three week long art exhibition displaying his Cloud Dance collection was held at Al Hosh Art Gallery, Souk Wakif, Doha [8, p. 8]. Rozario was interviewed by Bahrain TV for a program called 'A Walk Through Souk Wakif' [9]. Then in May the same year, his Cloud Dance collection was yet again exhibited, this time at Cafe Ceramique, Doha, Qatar. Some of his pieces in this series took a permanent display here.

Paintings presented to the First Lady of Qatar

In August 2011, Rozario presented few paintings studded with pearls and crystals he titled Swarovski Towers to the First Lady of Qatar HH Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, at the Al Wajbah Palace.

Art Explorers

In August 2012, Rozario began teaching art at his residence. Through teaching, he rediscovered art and saw it in a whole new light [6].

Pearlappetite

Holding true to his artistic sentiments, Rozario started creating art of pearls, semi-precious stones, and crystals set on colourful ceramic and glass plates. He aptly named it 'Pearlappetite'. In October 2012, the Ambassador of Malaysia to Qatar, H.E. Dato' Ahmad Jazri Mohamed Johar, commissioned artist Patric Rozario to create a 'Pearlappetite' gift to present to Datin Paduka Seri Hajjah Rosmah Mansor the First Lady of Malaysia, wife of the 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia [10]. In February 2014, Rozario's 'Pearlappetite' collection was published as a coffee table book [11].

Victims of Villagio Fire Doha

In 2012, Rozario organized for Children in Doha to participate in co-creating art gifts to be presented to the families of the victims of the tragic Villagio Mall fire. Altogether, an overwhelming 62 children participated in this event [12]. http://www.iloveqatar.net/news/content/children-create-art-forvillaggio-fire-victims

Visual Arts Forum India (VAFI)

Rozario is one of the founding members of Visual Arts Forum India (VAFI) which was formed in 2012, to provide a platform to elevate Indian visual artists in Qatar [13].

2012 World Environment Day Painting Competition

In 2012, Rozario was invited to judge paintings done by thousands of contestants at the 6th annual World Environment Day Painting Competition.

Trash to Treasure

In March 2014, an event was held to highlight to the public the amount of waste that is being produced, and to showcase creative ways to recycle materials [14]. Rozario was contacted by the Environment Department of The-Pearl Qatar to create an art installation using plastic bottles and caps. He, alongside three other artists, worked for over a month to produce an Eco Pond made entirely out of domestic plastic waste [15].

Destination Imagination

In 2014, Rozario was selected as an appraiser for Destination Imagination Qatar, a non-profit organization to inspire and equip students to become the next generation innovators and leaders [21]. http://imaginedoha.org/

Artistic Metal Panels

Artistic Metal Panels made by Rozario are bespoke art painted on aluminum composite panels, embellished with pearls, crystals, and semi precious stones, then coated with epoxy resin. His unique form of art creation is versatile, sturdy, weather resistant, and most of all aesthetically pleasing. They can be installed as sliding doors, kitchen splash-backs, or as a standalone piece. Rezaas, a hotel in Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat in India had recently commissioned him to create a series of eight panels to be displayed at their establishment.