Artist Biography
Shark’s is deeply saddened by the death of Italo Scanga. His enthusiastic spirit, pure enjoyment of life, food, music, and art-making inspired us all and made him a joy to work with and know. We are very proud of the prints that we created together and it will always be a reminder of our friendship.
Italo Scanga was a painter, sculptor, and printmaker. After a childhood spent in Italy, Scanga matured as an artist in his adopted home, the United States. He was a prolific artist who worked in many mediums, combining found and altered objects with sculpted or painted elements. Religion, culture, and history were major themes in the monotypes and lithographs that Scanga produced at Shark’s Ink. He used images of saints, fruits and vegetables, vases, and landscapes to evoke a sensuous, poetic connection to everyday life and its social meaning.
Italo Scanga was Professor of Visual Art at the University of California/San Diego, and his work is widely exhibited.
Selected Collections: The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY; Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY; Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
A complete artist biography is available by request.
