(Untitled Cubist polychrome sculpture)

Italo Scanga

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 by an artist who made 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, hand-carved, and assembled wooden sculpture, 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.