Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Anthony Emmolo


Anthony Emmolo takes a fully immersive approach to his art seeing the experience that leads to the creation of a work as part of the work itself. Having lived much of his life throughout various areas of Asia Anthony’s masterpieces tell a rich story of tradition and culture through a beautiful pallet of soft and vibrant contrasting colors. The precise and elegant arrangement of objects throughout each piece exemplifies their individual importance but also creates a harmonious balance compositionally. Read more about Anthony’s amazing journey and how they influences his art below which is from www.hansongalleryfineart.com.


In Support of Above
The silence of the world of Asian temples would be the perfect setting for sincere self-study and self-expression. Knowing this, Anthony moved his studio to Taipei, Taiwan with the aim to remain in Asia for ten years. The year was 1988; he was 24 years old and had just graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City...

Since that point in his life, he has visited many countries, walking everywhere with his sketchbooks. Writing notes and drawing pictures helps to open his mind to a world of different sights, sounds and smells that are uniquely Asian. He paints some of the objects that have come closest to his heart. The refined handle of a Chinese calligraphy brush with its horsehair. Teapots and Sake pots that were there with him during his moments spent with friends and the moonlight. Many of these treasures traveled with the artist to The Great Wall of China, Yellow Mountain, along the Yang Tze River, to Korea and Japan, to temples and on train rides throughout the countryside, as drinking tea has long been his way to commune with nature, or with the people of a village.

An object loses significance when it is displayed as a part of a large group. In a Zen temple, the Japanese monks will display one piece of pottery on a shelf that could hold many. In this way the pottery is revealed and the viewer is able to celebrate the color, texture, its perfections and imperfections. This is the essence of Emmolo’s work.

After a six year Taipei, Taiwan experience, the artist moved to Kyoto, Japan where his art changed forever. "The refined impressions of Kyoto are a teacher in themselves. They feed a person with a harmony of color, space and texture in a way that I've not seen in any other culture." When he visited a Noh drama theatre for the first time he saw clearly that divinity can speak to a person through art. It was on that evening that he created the aim to never pick up the paintbrush until he could "be there" with the brush. "And that is when painting took on a higher meaning for me."

In the year 2003, after four years in Northern California, the artist embarked on yet another Asian experience. This time home became Shanghai, China. Shanghai, a modern city bustling with 20,000,000 people is situated an hour or so away from a number of classical Chinese villages. It was there that Emmolo could penetrate some of the deepest of the ancient Chinese arts. Tea ceremony, dance, flower arrangement, sculpture and painting became his newest interests.

It was in Shanghai that he created his beloved Art For The Heart, which is a charitable project that allows his art to serve society.

For questions or more information please email us at info@hansongalleryfineart.com or call us at 415-332-1815.