Mino Argento is an Italian painter and collage artist renown for his Abstract style. Mino Argento was born in Rome, Italy in the year 1927.
Argento had a background as an architect before becoming an artist. He left Italy in order to further his art career. At that time in Italy figurative art was the preferred style of painting. The artist relocated to New York City.
Argento uses basic geometric shapes to form new dimensions on the canvas. He paints using mixed mediums on most surfaces including oils and acrylics.
Argento’s art reminds me of the kinetic and Op Artist from Venezuela, Carlos Cruz Diez. Both use simple shapes to create amazing layers of depth and light.
In this clip we view a variety of well known abstract painters including Mino Argento, whose work is shown at the 4:13 mark in the clip:
Umberto Boccioni was an Italian artist associated with the Futurist movement. Umberto Boccioni was born in Reggio Calabria, Italy in the year 1882.
His father was a low level government official.
The artist attended the Academy of Fine Arts located in Rome. Giocoma Balla was a major influence.
Boccioni was a painter and sculptor who was very prolific in his output.
In this clip one of the artist’s most famous sculptures:
Below a selection of paintings by the artist:
In the year 1916 he was drafted to fight in World War One. During a training exercise he was thrown from his horse and trampled. He died the next day from the injuries he sustained. Umberto Boccioni passed away in 1916 when he was only 33 years of age.
Price range information: Works range from $10,000 to $900,000. The artist worked in charcoal, watercolors, and oils. He was also a printmaker.
The artist was truly a young master and its too bad he passed away at such a young age. Though he had a short career, he was an outstanding painter in a representational style, as well as his chosen style of Futurism.
Alice Pasquini is a street artist renown for her work with the female face and figure. Alice is based out of Rome, Italy. The artist attended the Academy of Fine Art located in Rome.
Alice Pasquini was born in the year 1980.
I find the work of Alice to be similar to Swoon. Pasquini is very successful as a commercial artist and some clients include Microsoft, Nike, and Toyota.
Below we follow the artist as she works on a piece in Rome, Italy:
price range information: Sorry none available.
In this clip we view Alice Pasquini work on a piece in Norway:
In her work Alice strives to capture quiet moments of our daily lives. When she portrays the female figure its seen as a strong independent figure, not as a sex symbol.
Giulio Turcato was an Italian painter renown for his abstract works. Giulio Turcato was born in Montova, Italy in the year 1912.
For his artistic education Turcato attended the Venice Academy School of Nude Studies located in Venice, Italy.
After his schooling he was able to find work at an architecture firm.
Growing up he had a weak heart and spent much time in hospital. Picasso and the Cubist movement inspired Turcato during this time period.
Turcato went on to become a key figure and founder of many abstract movements that took place in Europe.
Gulio Turcato was part of the 1942 Venice Biennial.
Turcato passed away in 1995.
Price range information: The artist worked as a printmaker and also in mediums including acrylics, oils, collage, and watercolor. Works range from $5,000 to $80,000.
In this clip we view a show from 2012:
I love the shapes that this abstract artist uses and sometimes layers on top of each other giving the work a feeling of dimension and fluidity.
Giancarlo Impiglia is an Italian artist working in an Art Deco style. Giancarlo Impiglia was born in the year 1940 in   . Impiglia has worked as a muralist and also works with mosaics and even produces wood sculpture. For his subject matter Impiglia likes to depict the social scenery of New York city and the Urban lifestyle. For his artistic education Impiglia attended the Liceo Artistico and the Academy of Fine Arts located in Rome, Italy.
One aspect I love about his work is the fact the faces are left off. No detail is given, just the colors of the clothes and such. We understand through his work at this level of society its all about the bling. Living the Great Gatsby experience!
His signature style involves playing with the shapes of the art deco style, and also with great use of color and movement in his designs.
Impiglia moved to the United States in 1974. Impiglia is based out of New York City.
Price range information: Sorry none available.
In this clip a visit to the artist’s studio:
What a great style! Modern and classic at the same time! The artist also enjoys working additions including gold leaf.
Alice Trumbull Mason was born in Litchfield Connecticut in the year 1904. For her artistic education the artist traveled to Europe in the 1920s and studied art in Rome, Italy and then at British Academy. In 1927 she moved back to New York City to begin her professional art career.
A friend was Ilya Bolotowsky, an abstract painter who used basic geometric shapes, who has been featured here as one person bought work by the artist at Goodwill for less than $20 and sold for more than $9,000.
The artist was a distant relative of historical painter John Trumbull. Below an example of the art of John Trumbull. John Trumbull lived in the colonial era and was renowned for his portraits of political leaders. This portrait of George Washington. John Trumbull was called Colonel John as he served in the Revolutionary War and boasted about his service.
Alice Mason mixed her pigments and made her own paints. She also painted on unusual surfaces including rayon.
Her husband was the captain of a sea going ship, so she was left alone much of the time to raise two children. One child named Emily Mason, born in 1932 is a practicing abstract artist and will be the next post.
Alice Trumbull Mason passed away in 1971.
I so enjoy it when families have multiple generations of artisans. From the colonial painter John Trumbull to her own daughter Emily and a granddaughter Cecily Kahn, this family has made an important generation to the artistic output of the United States since the founding fathers were alive. Amazing!
To close here is a work by the granddaughter of Alice Mason, Cecily Kahn:
Edmonia Lewis was born close to Albany, New York in a city called Greenbush, New York in the year 1845. Her actual birthday is not known. Edmonia Lewis was the first woman of color to achieve national prominence. Her father was African- American and her mother was a Native American Indian of the Chippewa tribe. Her mother was a crafts person and also created weavings.
Her mother and father both died when the artist was nine years of age.
In 1856 with some help from abolitionists Lewis attended Oberlin College located in Oberlin, Ohio. During her last year she was supposed to go sledding with some fellow classmates and she served them an alcoholic beverage that made them both ill. The two didn’t die, but were very ill. The townspeople revolted and a mob formed and beat her severely as she was walking home one evening. She left the college before graduation.
For most of her working life Edmonia Lewis was based out of Rome.
Her full name was Mary Edmonia Lewis.
A brief documentary on Edmonia Lewis with some of her sculptures:
Among people she created figures of were leading abolitionists, a leader of an African- American infantry group Robert Shaw, and also the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
During her peak she received two commissions worth $50,000. Even President Ulysses Grant ordered a commission from the artist.
Edmonia Lewis passed away in 1907 whilst in London, England.
Price range information: Sorry none available.
Inspiring to see that despite her difficulties and loss of parents, Lewis relocated to Europe and flourished as an artist.
Piero Dorazio was born in Rome, Italy in the year 1927. Dorazio started out studying architecture but went on to become a founder of the abstract movement in Italy. He began school in 1945, at this time he also experimented with abstract painting for the first time. A main subject for the artist were ink ribbons.
Dorazio was given a scholarship to study at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts in Paris, France. Dorazio was able to connect with the leading modern painters and bring his knowledge back to Italy where he founded galleries called “Age d’Or” representing the modernist painters of his region in Rome and Florence.
Dorazio also visited the United States for one year and met artists Rothko and Motherwell.
In this clip we see a wonderful work of fabric art made by Dorazio:
Piero Dorazio passed away in 2005.
Price range information: Dorazio worked in many mediums including oils, watercolor, plexiglass, and prints. Many works range from $5,000 to $500,000. At auction Dorazio’s work has sold for more than $4 million.
Dorazio is seen as a wonderful abstract artist, but my favorite images of his are those of the ink ribbons. The repeating pattern displayed in this work reminds of the great British Op Art master, Bridget Riley. Below an example of Bridget Riley’s art.
Agostino Iacurci is a street artist based out of Italy. He was born in Foggia, in the southern region of Italy in the year 1986. Iacurci does it all as far as creating art. He paints murals, illustrates books, and painting on canvases for gallery exhibitions.
A large influence on the artist was Bruno Munari, an Italian painter who lived from 1907 to 1998. He worked with a style that emphasized geometric shapes with strong and bold color. Below an example of Munari’s work.
Iacurci started his graffiti painting in 1998, at the age of twelve, and first started to write and make tags. He was not inspired by this type of art but found street artists whose work he enjoyed such as Os Gemeos, the twins from Brasil and Blu.
price range information: Sorry none available.
In this clip we view the artist making a very large work for the 2013 Biennale:
Worked on a collaborative work at a prison. The project was shot with film and a documentary is being made about the process.
Iacurci enjoys working outside and doing murals and street art as he gets instant feedback from the people passing by.
Currently based out of Rome, Italy.
Below a montage of works by Iacurci. What a fun and whimsical style!
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