Artwork of the Day!! Sun, Sept 3, 2023: Untitled Cubist bust; hand painted bronze sculpture, 1/1, 1989.

Artwork of the Day!! Sunday, September 3, 2023. Italian-born American sculptor Italo Scanga (1932-2001). Yesterday's post was "The Sculptor", a color intaglio by Warrington Colescott. Today's post is a sculpture by the subject of the print - Italo Scanga. ?

(Untitled Cubist Bust) is a cast bronze, hand painted polychrome sculpture by Italian-born American sculptor Italo Scanga, done in 1989. The work measure 13-3/8" in height x 8-1/8" in width, and 6-1/8" in depth. It weighs 20 pounds and is signed and dated by the artist on an etched bronze label attached to the base. It was cast by the artist in his studio in Southern California and uniquely painted by him in acrylic paint. The gallery inventory number for this work is 18864.This unique abstract sculpture by Italo Scanga (1932-2001) is available from the gallery for $4,500.00.

Please contact the gallery with any questions.Time payments can be arranged. Shipping costs will be discussed, special crating will be needed. California residents will have sales tax added. Out of state residents may be responsible for use tax, depending on state law.I have added a personal comment to the end of this post for any who might be interested.

Italian born abstract sculptor Italo Scanga's interest in art began when he and his mother were forced to scrap their plans of joining his father in America as World War II began to take hold of Italy. Borders closed, Scanga needed to make ends meet, and he found a job as an apprentice cabinetmaker. On his nights off, he took lessons in sculpture from an artist who created busts of saints.

This three dimensional work resonated with the young artist and, when they were finally able to emigrate to the United States, he enrolled in night classes at the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts, in Detroit, Michigan, even as he completed his high school studies. He had arrived at a fortuitous moment in American art history, when Abstract Expressionism was on the rise in the late 1940s. He was introduced to the works of the leading artists of the genre, and the fusion of his love of sculpture and the new, exciting style was complete.

By 1986, though he was still experimenting with new materials and techniques, he had come into his stride as a respected multi-media artist and educator, and his work began to feature a joyous abandon. In this untitled, hand painted bronze bust, the artist brings to life a multi-faceted Cubist portrait vibrating with dashes of color, unexpected angles, and an energy that is emblematic of Scanga's tireless vision and enthusiasm.

To purchase this work, see other works, or read a biography for Italo Scanga use this link to our website: https://www.annexgalleries.com/inventory/artist/3749/Scanga/Italo

Use this link to view our complete inventory on our website: https://www.annexgalleries.com/inventory?q=

A personal note: I spent time around Italo in the sculpture studio in Madison at the University of Wisconsin in 1962, where I was taking sculpture classes from Leo Steppat. We were able to get into the studios to work at any time there were not classes and I sometimes went in at night where he would be working. Italo was 30 years old (he seemed so old at the time) and had just been hired. He was working with welded automobile bumpers and, to me, had a seemingly endless energy and an engaging personality. He had studied at the Detroit Society of Arts which, early on, had considered automobile design to be a fine art and he was using the material he knew in a new way and all of a sudden students were scouring junk yards for car bumpers. I never studied with him directly but I did witness the beginning of an excellent career.