About Vincent
Vincent Calenzo was born on August 9, 1967 in Elmont, NY. He grew up on Long Island and moved to Massachusetts in 1985 to attend the Swain School of Design where he studied under the painter David Loeffler Smith. In 1988 Vincent received the prestigious Ellen Battel fellowship grant to the Yale Summer School of Art and Music, an intensive studio arts program attended and taught by world renowned artists. After earning his BFA, Vincent lived in Boston for two years working in his Brighton Studio and also at the Museum of Fine Arts. In 1991 he went on to attend the graduate program at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. After receiving his MFA in Painting, Vincent moved west to Los Angeles where he lived and worked for 17 years, showing in galleries across Southern California. In 2010 Vincent and his family returned to the Northeast. He is currently working from his studio off the shores of Long Island Sound in Milford, CT.
My work is an internalized view of our surroundings. When I’m struck by a particular scene, or passage in a novel, or poignant conversation, images begin to show themselves. In sketches I try to capture these impressions and when a sketch has power I’ll commit to a painting. Human activity is the central concern of my work, especially how people cope with difficult situations. Most of my characters are attempting to find a creative solution to their predicament despite their lack of resources or understanding. Often the result is a comic hero, the sort of person I’ve always loved to be around. The biggest challenge each painting presents is how to breathe life into the paint while addressing concerns of pictorial unity and appropriateness. When formal decisions support the emotional life of the subject I enjoy a blissful satisfaction almost unattainable elsewhere, and these good feelings will last until the next image pops into view and demands attention. When looking at my work I hope viewers will relate to the images personally and conjure their own tangential narratives, or be prompted to ask a few interesting questions.
Education
Cornell University, Ithaca NY, 1993 – Master of Fine Arts, Painting
The Swain School of Design, New Bedford MA, 1989 – Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting
The Yale Summer School of Music and Art, Norfolk CT – July-August, 1988
Professional Experience
1991-93 Teaching Assistant, Cornell University
1994-04 Muralist, Faux Finisher, Douglas Bouman and Associates
2000-10 Creative Director, Nolan Calenzo Art & Design
1999 Set Design, Full Moon Studios
Exhibitions
Currently Represented by RawSalt Gallery, Laguna Beach CA
Love Art Gallery, Norwalk CT, “Nevertheless She Persisted” March 2018
Nylen Gallery, Westport CT, “Recent Paintings by Vincent Calenzo” April 2017
Mattatuck Museum, “First Look, New to the collection” curated by Cynthia Roznoy, May 2017
Beechwood Arts, “Transformed” Westwood CT, May 2016
Mattatuck Museum, “Unsettled Identities” Curated by Duvian Montoya, Waterbury CT, July – Aug 2015
22 Haviland Street Gallery, South Norwalk CT, “Havart” Aug. 2014
Westport Art Center, Collective Pop Up, Westport CT, Nov 2014, Mar 2015
Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery, Stamford CT, “Thank You, CT” Curated by Anthony Haden-Guest, Aug 2014
New Haven Paint and Clay Club “112th Annual Juried Art Exhbition” Winner of the E.L. Greeley Prize,
Juror: Helen Klisser During, April 2013
Grey McGear Modern, (Ongoing Group Exhibitions) Bergamot Station, Santa Monica CA 2005-12
Grey McGear Modern (Solo Exhibitions) Bergamot Station, Santa Monica CA Apr. 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007
Bedlam Art (Solo Exhibition) Los Feliz CA, Jan 21 – Feb 23, 2006
The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles CA, Nov 2005
2nd Annual Six Degrees Festival, Los Angeles CA, Sept 2005
MJ Higgins Gallery, “The Fittipaldi Collection” Los Angeles CA, Jul – Aug 2005
Infusion Gallery, “CFHS Senior Prom Enchanted Underground” (Featured Artist) May, 2005
Art Annex, “The Friday the 13th Show” Los Angeles CA – May 13 – June 13, 2005
Bedlam Art, Los Feliz, CA, May – Jun 2005
Hangar 1018, Los Angeles CA, Apr 2005
Track 16 Gallery & Copro/Nason, “Eye of the Illuminati” Santa Monica CA, Feb – Mar 2005
CoproNason Gallery, “Downside Up/Upside Down” Culver City, CA, Jan – Feb 2005
Blue Space, “Art Throb” Hollywood CA, Dec 2004
Bedlam Art, “Saints & Sinners” Los Feliz CA, Dec 2004
Bedlam Art (Solo Exhibition) Los Feliz CA, Nov 2004
Angels Gate Cultural Center, “Art and Democracy” San Pedro CA, Jul – Aug 2004
Schomburg Gallery, Santa Monica CA, Jun – Jul 2003
Schomburg Gallery, Santa Monica CA, Dec – Jan 2003-04
Schomburg Gallery, Santa Monica CA, Jan – Feb 2002
Los Angles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles CA, “Art Exchange” 1999
San Diego Art Institute, Balboa Park, San Diego CA, National Juried Competition, (Grand Prize Winner)
Juror: Howard Fox, Director of Contemporary Art LACMA, 1999
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Staff Show) Boston MA, 1991
Publications / Interviews
Hartford Courant, Aug 2015
Juxtapoz Magazine, Apr 2005
“Sound Exchange” KPFK on-air interview with Jay Kugleman regarding “Art and Democracy,” Jul 9, 2004
Palisadian Post, Jun 12, 2003
Los Angeles Times, Jun 8, 2003
ArtScene, Jan 2002, Dec 2002, Jun 2003
Standard Times, New Bedford, MA, Mar 2001
Q Magazine, A Cornell Publication, 1992 and 93
Boston Herald Art Reviews, 1990
Awards
E.L. Greeley Prize, New Haven Paint and Clay Club; E.L. Greeley Prize Juror: Helen Klisser During, 2013 Grand Prize, San Diego Art Institute, National Juried Competition, Juror: Howard Fox, Director of Contemporary Art LACMA, 1999
Sage Graduate Tuition Award and Stipend, 1992
The Ryder Award for Excellence, 1989
The Ellen Battel Scholarship, 1988
Mural Commissions
The Desert Inn, Las Vegas, NV
Imperial Hotel, Osaka, Japan
Primm Valley Resorts, State Line, NV
Embassy Suites, Phoenix, AZ
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas NV
Collections
Mattatuck Museum Permanent Collection, Waterbury, CT
Louisa Fernanda Espinosa Private Collection, Laguna Beach, CA
The Fittipaldi Collection, Los Angeles, CA
Helen Klisser During, Private Collection, Westport, CT
