YSU alumnus is 1 of 4 to receive Civita Institute fellowship

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State University's Department of Art announced Thursday (July 9) that recent alumnus Anthony Angelilli was selected as one of only four recipients of the 2020 Civita Institute's Astra Zarina Early Career Fellowship to travel and work as an artist fellow in Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy, in 2021.

The Civita Institute inspires creative excellence through education, cultural exchange and exploration of the unique qualities of Italian hill towns, according to a news release. The institute promotes the idea that architecture and preservation, environmental stewardship, agricultural heritage and cultural exchange are linked, and that Civita and other hill towns of Italy provide a unique setting to experience these connections.

Originally scheduled for this summer, the one-month fellowship was deferred until summer 2021 and includes a cash stipend, travel and living accommodations.

"I am absolutely humbled to be the recipient of the Astra Zarina Early Career Fellowship," Angelilli said in the release. "It was a national call for artists, and people from all over the United States applied. I am excited about being there to work and study the architecture and construction of Civita and other parts of Italy while focusing on painting and drawing. While I am there, I plan on making small-scale, intimate paintings, but I'm sure I will be influenced by Italy's culture, and so my artwork may evolve to reflect my surroundings."

After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from YSU in 2019, Angelilli delved into his painting and drawing practice, which involves the way humans interpret loss and collect memory. The materials he uses are remnants of physical information, and he tries to connect these things as a way of sharing an intimate interaction and slowing down, according to the release.

Angelilli experiments with raw materials and paint to acquire specific textures, colors and lines. He said he is fascinated by the methods by which information is retrieved, and how visual and verbal language constantly changes.

"I use items that are either bought or collected from hardware stores, flea markets and the curbside of interstate routes," he said. "During the work process, those items are deconstructed and then reconstructed onto the surface of the canvas in correlation to smears of paint, grids and lines pieced together in layers. This decision-making tends to become a laborious ritual until exhaustion sets in. Eventually, all the materials celebrate the vulnerability of paint, fabric and string that mask the canvas and droop away from it."

Angelilli has received numerous awards for his work, one of which is included in the permanent collection of printmaking at the Glasgow Print Studio in Glasgow, Scotland.

A graduate of Struthers High School, he works at the Akron Art Museum as an exhibition technician. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he also supplements his income with carpentry, a skilled trade he learned from his family. He is also a real estate photographer.

This story was originally published July 10, 2020 at 11:28 AM with the headline "YSU alumnus is 1 of 4 to receive Civita Institute fellowship."