The next Artist You Need To Know is Joe DeAngelis.
DeAngelis is a painter and sculptor, but is best known for his three dimensional works, which are often massive, and alternately have a sense of power and playfulness in his use of large forms but also bright colours and delicate components. Many of his works suggest a sense of movement and activity, while towering over the viewer.
His often colourful works also seem to mimic the structures one might find in a children’s playground, and that sense of joy and artworks that are moments of unexpected delight is an ongoing theme of DeAngelis’ sculptures.
Speaking about DeAngelis’ works installed as part of the Toronto Sculpture Garden, curator Marshall Webb described DeAngelis’ aesthetic as “physically static but visually playful.”
The gallery below features DeAngelis’ sculpture “Rinterzo [which] is a large piece which includes several terrazzo balls and a reflection pool. Rinterzo is an Italian term for a billiards move, and the spheres and planes within the piece evoke the imagery of the sport. However, the sculpture is meant to inspire many interpretations and perspectives while delivering a sensory experience that is simultaneously visual and auditory. The viewer is encouraged to ponder the meaning of the shapes as they listen to the running water enter the reflection pool.”
DeAngelis was born in Rhode Island in 1938 : he earned a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Syracuse University in New York. He emigrated to Canada in 1969 and began teaching at the University of Windsor. He would become an essential part of the School of Visual Arts at the University of Windsor for several decades, teaching a variety of subjects but primarily sculpture.
His artworks – both free standing sculptures and works that are like reliefs, installed on pre existing edifices – can be found in many place around Windsor-Essex County, including the University of Windsor, the Essex County Civic Centre, and Windsor Public Library.
DeAngelis’ significant role in art education and community collaborations through art in the Windsor area have been recognized with the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Art (2001) and the Professional of the Year Award from the Windsor Chapter of the Canadian Italian Business and Professional Association (CIBPA) in 2005.
DeAngelis has exhibited extensively in both Canada and around the world, including Italy, Germany and the United States (especially in Michigan, as an extension of his significant presence in the Windsor – Detroit region). Commissioned sculpture and installations by DeAngelis include the Windsor Public Library; Mackenzie Hall (Windsor, ON); Essex Civic Centre (Windsor, ON); the University of Windsor Law School; a large exterior wall relief sculpture for the Ontario Government Building in Windsor; two sculptures for the City of West Vancouver, British Columbia; and a sculpture for the Odette Sculpture Park in Windsor (this is the work Rinterzo that is featured in the first gallery in this post).
DeAngelis was also one of the five Canadian sculptors selected to exhibit at the Pan American Wood Sculpting Symposium in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1977.
Important private commissions over DeAngelis’ career include a large wall mural for the Ciociaro Club of Windsor, an environmental outdoor sculpture for the Chelton Corporation in Old Yorktown Place, Toronto, a large sculpture for the Portofino Corporation and several sculptural/set designs for Gina Lori Riley Dance Enterprises. These stage and performative installations include the set design and construction for Sleeper (1987); a 25’ x 12’ moveable sculpture set for Things That Go Bump In the Night (1986); a multi-level set installation, View From the Periphery for the Festival of Life (1992-93); and the traveling contraption for the independent film Commedia Fantasia.