Joe Girandola
The works of Joe Girandola attract our attention to minute details often overlooked in the corrupt rush of modern society. Though classically trained as a stone carver in Italy, Girandola has veered away from the media concentrating on three-dimensional drawings and paintings using a variety of materials. One medium of choice is Duct Tape. Invented originally to weatherproof military ammunition boxes, the tape’s color was characteristically Army green. With the rise and abundant use of Central Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) units, the matte gray color and universal name of Duct Tape was introduced. The drawings on this site reflect the ingenuity and creative force behind the thrill of victory and the pursuit of innovation and invention against difficult odds. The stark portraits in varying colors of tape are prevalent in Girandola’s works as he investigates a number of societal problems that are routinely covered up in our quick fix society.
Joe Girandola is a professional artist originally from Baltimore, Maryland and has exhibited work at the Museum of Contemporary Art Geffen Contemporary,1996, Los Angeles; Kunsthalle Wien,2000,Austria; 1997 Kwangju Biennial, South Korea; 1997 Atlanta Center for Contemporary Art (Nexus) Biennial, Georgia. Recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant for 2003-04, Girandola was Assistant Director for the Santa Fe Art Institute(NM) until May of 2004. In addition to the Pollock-Krasner Grant, Girandola has been awarded an Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Emergency Assistance Grant, Change, Inc. Grant administered by Robert Rauschenberg, and an Artists Fellowship, Inc. Grant allowing him to focus solely on studio work. Currently maintaining a studio in Los Angeles, CA, Girandola has received an artist fellowship at The MacDowell Colony in 2004. and a fellowship at the Caldera Artist Residency Program in 2009. His outdoor sculpture commission works in Nebraska are part of the collections of Robert and Karen Duncan, Lincoln, NE and Steven and Carol Bloch, Omaha, NE.
Girandola Studio
3744 Valleybrink Road
Los Angeles, CA 90039