September 3 through October 19, 2024
Cummings Arts Center
Connecticut College
270 Mohegan Avenue, New London
The great wave of Italian immigration took place in the closing years of the 19th century and early into the 20th. Most of the arrivals were Southern Italians who set foot on Ellis Island with few belongings but with the ingenuity, creativity, and will to make a new life. Using their skills in carpentry, stonework, farming, mechanics, tailoring, needlework, and cooking, they created homes and communities that flourished and grew. Most remained in the Northeast within a day’s drive of where they landed.
The tradition of creativity and handwork continues in the studios of their children and grandchildren. Painters and sculptors, printmakers and textile artists, they draw from the richness of Italian and Italian American culture, some producing work that speaks to tradition, others working more abstractly but personally informed by the language and customs that were, and are, so much a part of their lives. A few of the artists are immigrants themselves. All of them synthesize Italian or immigrant culture with their experience as trained artists working in a contemporary art world.
The 26 participating artists are B. Amore, John Avelluto, Nancy Azara, Angelica Bergamini, Gianluca Bianchino, Jennifer Cecere, Chris Costan, Elisa D’Arrigo, Claudia DeMonte,
Paul Fabozzi, Milisa Galazzi, Diana González Gandolfi, D. Dominick Lombardi,
Lloyd (Maccarone) Martin, Joanne Mattera, Timothy (Macellari) McDowell, Patricia Miranda, John Monti, Laura (Policella/Roccio) Moriarty, Carolanna Parlato, Anna Patalano, Don Porcaro, Mary Schiliro, Karen Schifano, Denise Sfraga, and Lisa Zukowski.
“At a time when ethnicity and cultural legacy are topics of discussion in the art world as well as in society at large, A Legacy of Making contributes to the conversation with art and stories that express the immigrant experience as filtered through American lives,” says Joanne Mattera, curator of the exhibition.
A Legacy of Making: 26 Contemporary Artists Inspired by Their Italian Heritage
September 3-October 19, 2024
Cummings Art Center, Connecticut College
270 Mohegan Avenue, New London
Receptions: Saturday, September 14, 2:00-5:30, and Saturday, October 19, 4:00-5:30
The gallery is open Monday-Friday, 9:00-5:00; Saturday and Sunday, 1:00-4:00
(Closed for fall break, October 5-8)
Additional info: https://www.conncoll.edu/arts-culture/art-art-history-architectural-studies/art-exhibitions/ 860-439-2740
