Artist Brad Guarino

Brad Guarino– Artist Statement

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a garbage man when I grew up, because garbage men were strong, drove a big truck, and did something that was useful. And it seemed very manly. For a young boy, the idea that he would someday grow up to be manly was an important source of self-assurance.

I remember the first time someone called me a “homo.” I asked a friend what it meant. He said it was a “man who isn’t a man.” A few years later, when I found out that my father was gay, I lived in fear that people would think I was like him, “a man who isn’t a man.”

Boyhood ideas of manhood are reductive—being a man is more complex than one’s sexuality or being strong and useful—and they do not account for individual differences and alternative masculinities. But ideologies set in childhood are enduring, and we carry vestiges of these expectations and fears throughout our lives.

My narratives explore these lingering cultural constructs of masculinity and how they effect the way men act and relate to one another. The figures in my compositions are drawn or painted from collages made by recombining parts from various images of men. These images come from the mass media and from my own photographs. The collage process references how boys form their concept of male roles—by piecing together the perceived characteristics of cultural icons and stereotypes with those of influential men in their lives.

Resume

Education

2007 Postgraduate Study, Bulgarian National Academy of Art

2006 MFA, Visual Art, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT

2001 BFA, Painting, Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts

Exhibitions

Solo and Two Person

2009 Man to Man, Jorgenson Gallery, University of Connecticut, Storrs
2009 Tough Guys, Mad Men and Sissy Boys. Silo Gallery, New Milford, CT
2008 Myths Our Fathers Taught Us, Mitchell College, New London, CT Brad Guarino and Christopher Zhang, Smolyan City Gallery, Bulgaria and National Palace of Culture, Sofia, Bulgaria
2007 Persistent Echoes, Middlesex Community College, Middletown, CT
2007 Parallel Worlds, Brad Guarino and Nadine Zanow, European Cultural Center, Rousse, Bulgaria and Serdika Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria
2005 Brad Guarino, National Palace of Culture, Sofia, Bulgaria and Open Society Gallery, Smolyan, Bulgaria
2004 Brad Guarino: Inherited Memory, The Atrium Gallery at Quinebaug Valley Community College, Danielson, CT and Alexey von Schlippe Gallery, University of Connecticut, Groton, CT

Group

2009 Paper Explorations, Wallace L. Anderson Gallery, Bridgewater State College, MA
2008 The Balkan Quadrennial of Painting: Myths and Legends of My People, Stara Zagora City Art Gallery, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
2008 Building Consensus: Visual Arts Faculty Exhibition, Akus Gallery, Eastern Connecticut State University
2008 Self Portrait: Fact, Fiction, Fantasy, Ruchika Gallery, Goa, India and DaksinaChitra Gallery, Chennai, India
2008 Impressed, Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, CT
2008 50/50: The New Media Object, Artspace Windham, Willimantic, CT
2007 Followers of Maistora, Municipal Gallery Maistora, Kyustindil, Bulgaria
2007 Cultural Identity, Sofia Press Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria
2006 30x30, Astry Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria
2006 Six of One, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2005 Fellowship Exhibition, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, Hartford, CT
2005 Group exhibition, 808 Gallery, Boston, MA
2005 Group exhibition, Soho20 Gallery, Chelsea, NY
2004 Society of American Graphic Artists (SAGA) 71st National Juried Show The Old Print Shop, New York, NY
2004 Living Spaces at The Crossroads, Capitol Community College, Hartford, CT
2003 Naked or Nude: Perceptions of The Human Form, Fine Arts Building Gallery, Chicago, IL
2002 Shadows, Nexus Gallery, New York, NY
2002 SAGA 69th National Juried Show, Art Students League, New York, NY
2002 Art of New England, Lyme Art Association, Old Lyme, CT

Grants and Residencies

2006.7 Fulbright Fellowship: Bulgaria, Institute of International Education
2007 5th International Artist Residency, Municipal Gallery Maistora, Kyustindil, Bulgaria
2007 2nd International Artist Residency, Panev Gallery, Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria
2005/08 Bulgaria Artist Residency and Fellowship, Griffis and Orpheus Foundations
2004.6 Teaching Assistantship, University of Connecticut
2004 Artist Fellowship Grant, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism
2002-05 Urban Artists Initiative Residency, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism/Institute for Community Research
2002-03 Urban Artists Initiative Grant, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism

Awards

2004 Rosenhouse Award, Society of American Graphic Artists (SAGA)
2002 Daniel Serra-Badue Award, SAGA 69th National Juried Show

Bibliography

2007 Selected Artist. New American Paintings. July: 175.
2007 "Bulgaria and Bulgarians Reconstructed in the Paintings of Brad Guarino and Nadine Zanow." Karadjova, Valentina. Bryag (Rousse, Bulgaria) 13 Mar.
2007 Alexova, Sibila. "Americans Paint Bulgaria." Trud (Sofia, Bulgaria) 28 Feb.
2003 "The Buzz: Brad Guarino." Pearson, Dan. The New London Day (New London, CT) 15 Feb.

Presentations

2006 Men's Issues in Art, National Organization of Men Against Sexism (NOMAS) Conference: Men and Masculinity 31: Creating Connections for Gender Justice, Ramapo College, Mahwah, NJ

Collections

Akademia Sztuk Pieknych, Krakow, Poland
Bulgarian National Academy of Art Sofia, Bulgaria
Electroflex Heat, Inc., Bloomfield, CT
Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, CT
Griffis Foundation, New London, CT
Izvora Corporation, Arbanassi, Bulgaria
London College of Art, School of Printing and Publishing, London, UK
Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, Old Lyme, CT
Municipal Gallery Maistora, Kyustindil, Bulgaria
Orpheus Foundation, Sofia Bulgaria
Pfizer, Inc., New York, NY
Polish Fulbright Foundation, Warsaw, Poland
University of Connecticut School of Art, Storrs, CT

Professional Experience

2009 Adjunct Professor, Mitchell College, New London, CT
2007-09 Adjunct Professor, University of Connecticut, Storrs
2007-09 Adjunct Professor, Eastern Connecticut State University
2009 Guest Curator, “Serial Fiction,” Golden Street Gallery, New London, CT
2007 Curator, “Cultural Identity,” Sofia Press Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria and Alexey von Schlippe Gallery, University of Connecticut



	Brad Guarino– Artist Statement When I was a kid, I wanted to be a garbage man when I grew up, because garbage men were strong, drove a big truck, and did something that was useful. And it seemed very manly. For a young boy, the idea that he would someday grow up to be manly was an important source of self-assurance. I remember the first time someone called me a “homo.” I asked a friend what it meant. He said it was a “man who isn’t a man.” A few years later, when I found out that my father was gay, I lived in fear that people would think I was like him, “a man who isn’t a man.” Boyhood ideas of manhood are reductive—being a man is more complex than one’s sexuality or being strong and useful—and they do not account for individual differences and alternative masculinities. But ideologies set in childhood are enduring, and we carry vestiges of these expectations and fears throughout our lives. My narratives explore these lingering cultural constructs of masculinity and how they effect the way men act and relate to one another. The figures in my compositions are drawn or painted from collages made by recombining parts from various images of men. These images come from the mass media and from my own photographs. The collage process references how boys form their concept of male roles—by piecing together the perceived characteristics of cultural icons and stereotypes with those of influential men in their lives. Resume Education 2007 Postgraduate Study, Bulgarian National Academy of Art 2006 MFA, Visual Art, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 2001 BFA, Painting, Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts Exhibitions Solo and Two Person 2009 Man to Man, Jorgenson Gallery, University of Connecticut, Storrs 2009 Tough Guys, Mad Men and Sissy Boys. Silo Gallery, New Milford, CT 2008 Myths Our Fathers Taught Us, Mitchell College, New London, CT Brad Guarino and Christopher Zhang, Smolyan City Gallery, Bulgaria and National Palace of Culture, Sofia, Bulgaria 2007 Persistent Echoes, Middlesex Community College, Middletown, CT 2007 Parallel Worlds, Brad Guarino and Nadine Zanow, European Cultural Center, Rousse, Bulgaria and Serdika Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria 2005 Brad Guarino, National Palace of Culture, Sofia, Bulgaria and Open Society Gallery, Smolyan, Bulgaria 2004 Brad Guarino: Inherited Memory, The Atrium Gallery at Quinebaug Valley Community College, Danielson, CT and Alexey von Schlippe Gallery, University of Connecticut, Groton, CT Group 2009 Paper Explorations, Wallace L. Anderson Gallery, Bridgewater State College, MA 2008 The Balkan Quadrennial of Painting: Myths and Legends of My People, Stara Zagora City Art Gallery, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria 2008 Building Consensus: Visual Arts Faculty Exhibition, Akus Gallery, Eastern Connecticut State University 2008 Self Portrait: Fact, Fiction, Fantasy, Ruchika Gallery, Goa, India and DaksinaChitra Gallery, Chennai, India 2008 Impressed, Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, CT 2008 50/50: The New Media Object, Artspace Windham, Willimantic, CT 2007 Followers of Maistora, Municipal Gallery Maistora, Kyustindil, Bulgaria 2007 Cultural Identity, Sofia Press Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria 2006 30x30, Astry Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria 2006 Six of One, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, NY 2005 Fellowship Exhibition, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, Hartford, CT 2005 Group exhibition, 808 Gallery, Boston, MA 2005 Group exhibition, Soho20 Gallery, Chelsea, NY 2004 Society of American Graphic Artists (SAGA) 71st National Juried Show The Old Print Shop, New York, NY 2004 Living Spaces at The Crossroads, Capitol Community College, Hartford, CT 2003 Naked or Nude: Perceptions of The Human Form, Fine Arts Building Gallery, Chicago, IL 2002 Shadows, Nexus Gallery, New York, NY 2002 SAGA 69th National Juried Show, Art Students League, New York, NY 2002 Art of New England, Lyme Art Association, Old Lyme, CT Grants and Residencies 2006.7 Fulbright Fellowship: Bulgaria, Institute of International Education 2007 5th International Artist Residency, Municipal Gallery Maistora, Kyustindil, Bulgaria 2007 2nd International Artist Residency, Panev Gallery, Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria 2005/08 Bulgaria Artist Residency and Fellowship, Griffis and Orpheus Foundations 2004.6 Teaching Assistantship, University of Connecticut 2004 Artist Fellowship Grant, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism 2002-05 Urban Artists Initiative Residency, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism/Institute for Community Research 2002-03 Urban Artists Initiative Grant, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism Awards 2004 Rosenhouse Award, Society of American Graphic Artists (SAGA) 2002 Daniel Serra-Badue Award, SAGA 69th National Juried Show Bibliography 2007 Selected Artist. New American Paintings. July: 175. 2007 "Bulgaria and Bulgarians Reconstructed in the Paintings of Brad Guarino and Nadine Zanow." Karadjova, Valentina. Bryag (Rousse, Bulgaria) 13 Mar. 2007 Alexova, Sibila. "Americans Paint Bulgaria." Trud (Sofia, Bulgaria) 28 Feb. 2003 "The Buzz: Brad Guarino." Pearson, Dan. The New London Day (New London, CT) 15 Feb. Presentations 2006 Men's Issues in Art, National Organization of Men Against Sexism (NOMAS) Conference: Men and Masculinity 31: Creating Connections for Gender Justice, Ramapo College, Mahwah, NJ Collections Akademia Sztuk Pieknych, Krakow, Poland Bulgarian National Academy of Art Sofia, Bulgaria Electroflex Heat, Inc., Bloomfield, CT Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, CT Griffis Foundation, New London, CT Izvora Corporation, Arbanassi, Bulgaria London College of Art, School of Printing and Publishing, London, UK Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, Old Lyme, CT Municipal Gallery Maistora, Kyustindil, Bulgaria Orpheus Foundation, Sofia Bulgaria Pfizer, Inc., New York, NY Polish Fulbright Foundation, Warsaw, Poland University of Connecticut School of Art, Storrs, CT Professional Experience 2009 Adjunct Professor, Mitchell College, New London, CT 2007-09 Adjunct Professor, University of Connecticut, Storrs 2007-09 Adjunct Professor, Eastern Connecticut State University 2009 Guest Curator, “Serial Fiction,” Golden Street Gallery, New London, CT 2007 Curator, “Cultural Identity,” Sofia Press Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria and Alexey von Schlippe Gallery, University of Connecticut





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