Anthony Graviano Depicts What Remains After Tragedy
Anthony Graviano Depicts What Remains After Tragedy
- July 25, 2023
Gift of Michal and Joshua Garren
When terrorists struck the Twin Towers on September 11, many downtown residents and workers fled their homes, offices, and businesses. Artist Anthony Graviano, however, made the decision to remain in his studio just 12 blocks from Ground Zero.
For months after the attacks, he regularly ventured to the stricken site, getting as close as he could to see and sketch the ruins. Back in this studio, he then pictured what he saw, felt, and experienced, created drawings and then paintings notable for their bold strokes, arresting colors, and monumental scale.
Seen at left, "Red, White, and Blue," depicts the still-standing vestiges of upright steel anchored in the wreckage. Graviano was inspired by these colossal remnants of structural steel and wanted to convey their endurance.
For the artist, they also embodied the extraordinary spirit of unity generated by the events of 9/11, “where no one thing mattered, politically, religiously, or anything else; all citizens of this mixed pot came together.”
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