When it comes to traditional figurative art, Gialanella provides something neither traditional nor affected.  His figures and animals contain

substance and space, embodied with perfect dimensions and balanced proportions amid the chaos of steel strips and planes.  He infuses

his work with spirit, as if through some aesthetic alchemy, yielding sentient beings filled with solace and expression.  The spatial relationships

are always carefully considered and dynamic - containing movement that is rarely seen in representational sculpture. Whether through ribbons

of steel or his series of parallel plates, one becomes aware of the artist’s mastery to express ideas free from the paralyzing grip of academic

principles and conventional techniques.

 

If Gialanella has apprehended some essence of life in his art, then it is only by regarding his subjects as a mirror of human emotions that we

can forgo reality and delve into the spiritual expression that lies within.  Thus the concept of an animal, a camel or horse, that represents strength,

beauty, freedom – are not meant to function as mere examples of these creatures, but as a collection of shapes and subconscious symbols that

are not part of the tangible world. They are like a projection of dreams, not a contest with reality.  The artist is able to separate hand and brain,

tapping into a potent force aimed at redefining objective representation. Ideally, he creates austere symbols stripped of convention and artifice.

 

~ William Van Horne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Louise Bourgeois and Don in 2006

 

Education                                                                                     
Donald Gialanella graduated magna cum laude with a BFA from The Cooper Union in New York City.  From 1979-1981, he worked as

Louise Bourgeois' chief studio assistant. Click here to see a sculpture from this period.

 

Commercial Design
Donald was an editorial illustrator for the Blade -Tribune newspaper in Oceanside, California in 1981. Two years later he returned to New

York and began a decade long career as graphics producer for the ABC television network.  He helped develop the use of on-air digital graphics

on World News Tonight and later for Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America and a host of other news and sports broadcasts. He won an Emmy

for Monday Night Football in 1990.

 

Teaching                                                                                                                  

For two years beginning in 1992, Gialanella taught art and design in the fine arts faculty at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. At that time

he also worked as a graphics producer for the Turkish Television Network and several private channels in Istanbul.

 

LiveSteel Studio
In 1995, Gialanella began sculpting out of his studio in Cooperstown, NY.  With a combination of the repousse technique (meaning "hammered

from the reverse side") and traditional Blacksmithing, he developed a simple and direct process to create steel sculpture. Since then, he has

expanded his use of materials and techniques while relocating his studio to Taos, NM and then to Los Angeles, CA.

 

Public Sculpture

In 2011, Gialanella was shortlisted for the Heisler Park Sculpture Project in Laguna Beach, CA, for his design, The Orbs. The City of Santa Clarita,

CA chose Pointing the Way as one of three finalists in 2010 for the McBean Transit Center public sculpture call. In 2009, the artist visited Perth,

Australia as a finalist in the $500,000.00 International St. George's Cathedral Sculpture Competition for the Parallax Cross.

 

Gialanella began examining dual-image sculpture with the phenomenon of the parallax in 2007. In these sculptures, the observer sees a changing

image, depending on the angle at which the sculpture is approached. The technique is ideally suited for urban spaces where movement around the

sculpture initiates changes in its perception by the viewer. Gialanella received a commission from the City of Albany, NY that saw three parallax

sculptures installed in the downtown Capital district.

 

Perception and Illusion

The parallax series led to the exploration of another area of sculptural illusion that questions the basic notion of perception. In the

Topsy Turvy Mechanica series, a garish painted face greets the viewer with a gaping grin. As the face is rotated upside-down, a frowning face is

surprisingly revealed imbedded within the original visage.

 

The Topsy Turvy pieces literally change from one image to another. Seeing two-subjects-in-one warps the viewer's perception, making us

wonder how these images can fool our minds eye. To create this visual shift, carefully designed images interact to affect a profound change in

what we see. Looking at these sculptures, we can't quite believe our eyes.

 

Green Sculpture
Gialanella uses reclaimed objects as the building material for a series of midden (a conglomeration of artifacts) sculpture assemblages.

Fetishistic clusters of toys, tools, utensils, electronic game components, computer hardware and a myriad of mass produced plastic objects

are given new life as figurative sculptures. These pieces are profiled in CTN Magazine and The Landfill Art Project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uri Geller & Gialanella                        Howard Stern & Gialanella at KRock    With Dr. Keith Ablow and sculpture Sisyphus  

Gialanella's work is exhibited in public spaces, museums, galleries and private collections worldwide. He is a member of the Sculptors Guild

and LAVA, the Los Angeles Visionaries Association. Donald is represented by GVG Contemporary in Santa Fe, NM.