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Artist's Statement
Statement of Work
When terrorism struck and many in the affected area of ground zero
abandoned their homes and businesses, artist Anthony Graviano
remained in his studio. On September 11, and for months thereafter,
he went down to the ground zero site by day and painted by night.
In bold strokes and vivid color, he drew directly from his experience of the aftermath.
Graviano sought out images of objects that, at once familiar and unreal,
had somehow survived. His focus on what endured the tragedy initially
materialized on a subconscious level. He later realized, with fervent hope
resonating the affected area, he could not have focused on anything else.
“I scoured the wreckage for representations of the human spirit,
which despite extreme destruction was resilient, as it not only could
survive but would.” He painted structures sculptured by fire, some taken from
photographs, others imprinted in his mind deeply beyond their life on canvas.
As Anthony worked in his ground floor studio just above Canal Street, he left
his doors open, as he generally does. Passersby peaked in on the artist and,
at such a sensitive time, many expressed their feelings. While some screamed
that he should burn in hell for making these paintings, others cried stating his
work speaks everything they could not put into words.
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Anthony Graviano
ph: 917.670.0065
email: anthony@anthonygraviano.com
Born:
Yonkers, New York 1968
Lives and works in New York City
Education:
SUNY College at Purchase, Purchase N.Y., B.F.A. 1990
New York Studio School, 1989
Selected Exhibitions
Site Projects, Crashing Chelsea, New York, N. Y., 2008
Emergency arts, 551 w 21 st , New York, N. Y., May 2006
Ground Zero; Artfirm Project Gallery New York, N.Y., May 2002
Playground of the Fearless, (in cooperation with Dietch Projects New York), Entropy, New York, NY, 2001
Kama Sutra, Embraces, New York, N.Y., 2001
Ne’er Do Wells, DNA Studios, New York, N.Y., 2000
The Grant Gallery, New York, N.Y., 2000
Ragnorack, New York, N.Y., 1999
Absolut Secret, Gulbenkian Galleries, Royal College of Art, London, England, 1999
Artists Space, Night Of a Thousand Drawings, New York, N.Y.,1998
TMX Fine Arts, The Viewing Room, New York, N.Y.,1998
Absolut Secret, Gulbenkian Galleries, Royal College of Art, London, England, 1997
The Cursio Gallery, New York, N.Y., 1996
Bibliography
The Lardner Report, Twin Towers: The Artists View, Lonnie Lardner, September,12, 2011
http://www.thelardnerreport.com/twin-towers-the-artists-view
ARD, German News, Live Today, Live interview One Year Later, 2002
Chris Chambers, Summer Picks, New York Arts Magazine, 2002
Merenzon, Eli, Artists of New York, Anthony Graviano, New Russian Word, 2001
Schmerler, Sarah, The Art of The Dealer, Time Out, 1999