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Artist Joseph Piccillo (American, 1941 - 2022)

Date1987

MediumCharcoal, oil and conté on canvas

DimensionsCanvas (Individual Panel): 72 × 60 inches (182.9 × 152.4 cm)
Canvas (Diptych): 72 × 120 inches (182.9 × 304.8 cm)

Credit LineGift of Dr. and Mrs. Jason H. Stevens.

Object number2006.36.1

On View

Not on view

Copyright© Joseph Piccillo. The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextBorn in Buffalo, New York, Joseph Piccillo earned his B.S. and M.S. in Art Education at the Buffalo State University, and is currently a professor in that department. Best known for his dramatic, vividly realistic images of animals and human figures in motion, Piccillo has exhibited his work across the United States for nearly thirty years. In this particular piece, Piccillo employs a seemingly infinite black background, starkly isolating the figures of the divers. The grid pattern across the canvas reminds the viewer that these tense, muscled figures are a creation of the artist rather than the realistic photograph they might otherwise resemble.

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