John D. Antone
“The Home Inside”
Margaret W. & Joseph L. Fisher Art Gallery
September 22nd, 2018 – November 4, 2018
Artists Reception is September 22nd, 2018 2-4PM
“There is a place inside ourselves that is home.”
“Created by gathering branches through walks in the forest, imagined and transformed in bronze, my sculptures invites us to reflects upon the beauty of the natural world and our humanity. I often use the universal symbol of the house in my work as an abstract way to invite people to think and to dream.
Beauty is complicated.
I am interested in in wisdom more than expression. ”
Biography
Based in the USA and Europe, John D. Antone’s sculpture is collected internationally. He is from a family of artists and artists at heart. Born in Washington, D.C., he majored in sculpture at Virginia Commonwealth University ( Ranked #1 in sculpture by US News and World Report). After his graduation from Virginia Commonwealth, Antone received a full scholarship for graduate study at California Institute of the Arts where John Baldessari, world renowned Conceptual artist was the teacher that most influenced him.
He has had many exhibitions in established galleries in Europe and the U.S.A. Currently Atelje Galerija in Slovenia, Stefan Bartsch in Munich and Galerie Crouzet-Girard in Paris represent his work. Last year Galerie Crouzet-Girard presented sculpture by John D. Antone and Surrealist master Man Ray at the Brussels Fine Art Fair.
He was the first American artist ever invited to exhibit in the 25 year history of the EU Commission cultural programs in Brussels. The EU Commission is the Executive branch of the EU government and both the U.S. Department of State and the EU Commission worked together to make his exhibition possible. Antone’s interview by Euro News was broadcast throughout Europe shortly after his exhibition at the EU.
In 2016 the Indian Council for Cultural Relations invited Antone to tour India and to give a lecture at India’s National Museum of Modern Art in New Delhi. He also worked in Paris in 2016 because he was awarded the Virginia Studio for the second time at the Cite des Arts. There are 300 international artists working in the studios of the Cite des Arts which is sponsored by the City of Paris, private foundations and foreign governments. Like many American artists before him Antone loves Paris.
His debut as a professional artist started after graduation with a solo exhibition in Venezuela thanks to the efforts of some of his earliest collectors; a family originally from Cuba that resettled in Washington, D.C. and Maracaibo after fleeing Fidel Castro’s regime.
Antone’s sculpture continues to be popular with Latin American audiences. In 2015 his exhibition at the Inter-American Development Bank was very successful. In 2017 the Art Museum of the Americas presented a solo exhibition of Antone’s sculpture curated by Fabian Goncalves Borrega. Presently Pablo Zuniga, Director of the Art Museum of the Americas, is working towards one of Antone’s sculptures being accepted into the permanent collection of the AMA.
All of his bronze sculpture are made in his studio at the foot of the Alps in Komenda, Slovenia. An expert foundry using the lost wax technique does his bronze casting. He has exhibited many times in Slovenia including the Moderna Galerija, Skofja Loka Museum and the American Ambassador’s Residence in Ljubljana. An article about Antone’s sculpture was in the August 2017 issue of “Outsider” magazine published in Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Switzerland. This year the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia had a large exhibition of his sculpture that led to his being recommended and recently accepted into the Art in Embassies Program register. The Art in Embassies Program showcases American art at U.S. Embassies around the world.
Grant Honors include: CEC ArtsLink Fellowship, Virginia Museum Professional Fellowship, Distinguished Guest of India Fellowship and Fulbright Fellowship arranged by the U.S. Department of State.
To Learnn more about John’s work visit his website at https://johndantone.com/