Bio
Andrew Conti (b.1977 New Hope, Pennsylvania U.S.A) is a painter and sculptor who creates large and small works that explore color, calligraphy, monument and markers of memory.
Conti received his BFA in painting from the Parsons School of Design in New York and continued his studies at Nanzan University in Nagoya, Japan.
The artist held solo exhibitions at the Park Towne Place Gallery in Philadelphia and the Zuisho-ji Temple in Tokyo, Japan. He participated in several exhibitions throughout the United States and Japan. His work is held in public and private collections in both countries.
A long time resident of Japan, Conti returned to the US in 2009 and lives and works in suburban Philadelphia with his family.
Statement
I create my work to memorialize life – from the everyday to the magical. I use color and calligraphy to create monuments and icons of memory, mythology, spirit, and life. To remember everything from the serious, to the sad, to the silly.
These objects, painted, sculpted, or both, are made to slow the world down and allow us to find meditative moments of focus and calm. To take the overwhelm, the fear, the emotion and information-overload of life and remake it in new forms that remind us to take our time and remember where we are and what matters.
I build these objects in conversation with my materials. I work intuitively, building with color, line, and form. I layer sweeping gestures, obsessive calligraphy, staining, brushing, rubbing, and the controlled chaos of the Japanese wet-on-wet technique tarashikomi.
Throughout each piece are diverse interests and inspirations. I pull from the ideas of art history – color field painting, gestural abstraction, the flatness of Japanese Rinpa painting. I also layer a personal calligraphy influenced by a lifetime of reading American comics and from the information packed world we inhabit both online and off.
My work develops as a family of related forms. Each piece is an independent moment that links with others through color, shape, and theme. But the possibilities are endless as new ideas, new shapes, and new pathways open for exploration.
CV
Selected Exhibitions
2023
Show of Shows, Bucks County Community College, Perkasie, Pennsylvania
RED: Group Show, Bucks Arts, Doylestown, Pennsylvania
2022
Sculpture 2022, New Hope Arts Center, New Hope, Pennsylvania
CFEVA Exhibition at Philadelphia FMC Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Galleries at Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2021
Up Against a Wall, Awbury Arboretum, Germantown, Pennsylvania
New Now IV, Inliquid Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Andrew Conti, Park Towne Place Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania *
Galleries at Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Spring Salon, New Hope Arts Center, New Hope, Pennsylvania
2020
Congruence, I Like Your Work Summer Juried Show, Online Exhibition
The Art Colony, New Hope Arts Center, New Hope Pennsylvania
Galleries at Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
CFEVA Member Show, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Embrace the Past, Celebrate The Present, New Hope Arts Center, New Hope Pennsylvania
Abington Arts Center, Summer Group Show, Abington Pennsylvania
Harvest Dream Invitational, Hazelton Art League, Hazelton Pennsylvania
2019
New Hope Arts Salon, New Hope Arts Center, New Hope Pennsylvania
EZ2Steal, New Hope Arts Center, New Hope Pennsylvania
8th Annual Juried Show, Artists of Yardley, Yardley, Pennsylvania
30th Annual Invitational Small Work Salon, New Arts Program, Kutztown, Pennsylvania
2017
6th Annual Juried Show, Artists of Yardley, Yardley, Pennsylvania
2016
Internal Color, Urban Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Small Work Salon Show, New Arts Program, Kutztown, Pennsylvania
5th Annual Juried Show, Artists of Yardley, Yardley, Pennsylvania
Annual Juried Exhibition, Gallery 128, PAFA, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2015
Invitational, DaVinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Member’s Salon, New Hope Arts Center, New Hope, Pennsylvania
2014
New Hope to New York – Juried Exhibition, New Hope Arts Center, New Hope, Pennsylvania
2008
Body – Phenotype – Landscape, Zuisho-ji Art Projects, Shirokanedai, Tokyo, Japan *
2007
The Kichijoji Apartment, Group exhibition, Terrace Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Deep-Seeded, Group exhibition, Mois, Tokyo, Japan
Setagaya Art Walk, Participant, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
2006
Connections and Combinations, Solo exhibition, Pause, Tokyo, Japan *
Setagaya Art Walk, Participant, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
2005
Drawings, Solo exhibition, The Pink Cow, Tokyo, Japan *
2004
Nins: Performance and Exhibition, Sagamihara-City, Japan
(* denotes solo exhibition)
Public Collections
Zuisho-Ji Temple, Shirokanedai, Tokyo, Japan
Kawasaki City Citizen’s Art Collection, Kawasaki, Japan
Bibliography
Gwen Shrift, “Abstract Works Dominate New Hope Arts Center Exhibit”
The Intelligencer, September 1, 2015
Bridget Wingert, “Bucks Native to Open Show in Tokyo”
Bucks County Herald, October 30, 2008
Jean Snow, “Puzzles by Andrew Conti”
Jeansnow.net, August 30, 2006
Awards and Honors
National Center for Science Education Logo Design Contest, Winner 2007
Selected Writings
“Nihonga Painting: Six Provocative Artists.” Metropolis Magazine, August, 2006
“Yubibira: Tabaimo.” Metropolis Magazine, July, 2006
“Jiro Takamatsu: Universe of his thought.” Metropolis Magazine, July, 2004
Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), Fine Arts. Parsons School of Design. New York, New York
Japanese and Traditional Japanese Arts. Nanzan University. Nagoya, Japan