Anna Pagnucci
medium: painting
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Contact information
5319 Willowview Rd
Racine, WI 53402
Phone Number: 262-939-1261
Email Address: annapagnucci@yahoo.com
Artist statement
I’m an immigrant’s daughter. My father grew up in Chicago among other immigrant Italians. From poverty, uneducated parents, and originally speaking only Italian, he went to college and became an English professor, a successful poet, and created a comfortable life for our family. He fully acclimated to the American culture during the 50s when blending in and becoming “American” was expected, yet he retained his Italian identity. My brothers and I were raised with this dual Italian meets American culture.
My painting is influenced by this heritage. Non-figurative works can illustrate concepts like mood, personality, and complex familial relationships. There is a story behind each piece, and I chose colors or form to represent a personality. I show the feeling of a person, their moods, the very private and personal aspects of who they are from an insider’s perspective through the visceral application of liquefied paint. I like to think that I start with a story, but that I embellish it to make a better tale as often we do when telling stories, especially those family stories that we retell over and over, generation to generation; only my story is through paint on a canvas.
Each piece is titled based on the person it relates to and his/her birth and death years. My work is the culmination of my personality and my Italian-American heritage. Intrinsically, through my paintings, you come to know something of me, mia familia, and chi sono.
Biography
I have a BA in Fine Art from UW-Platteville, an MA in Art History from UW-Milwaukee, and an MFA from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
My artwork is part of various private and public collections including the Racine Art Museum, Kenosha Care Center, and Hayward Memorial Hospital and is on permanent exhibition at Mocha Lisa in Racine, Wis., and the Stuart Saatchi Gallery of London, England.
My art historical publications include: Light, Color, Glass: Pattern of Illumination and Bacchus, God of Pleasure and Excess. I have had television interviews on my art on ACTV25 Channel 6 in Chicago and Artscape in Wisconsin as well as radio interviews on WSUP.
I have given various presentations on art, art history, and art and gerontology. I am currently working in graphic design and development with A. Allen Consulting.