Featured Artist Angelo Sorrentino

Canadian Angelo Sorrentino presents his delightful collection of handmade furniture. Visit his website to see more of his work.

 

 

As far back as I can remember, I’ve always loved to create with my hands. At first I worked with my father, a bricklayer and carpenter who did renovation. At age 28, I successfully completed a course in cabinetmaking.

 

 

That’s when I met Natalie Sanche, who became my partner and collaborator. We combined our two talents, metal and wood. The result was a collection of creations we called “women drawers”.

 

 

We presented these works in Chicago, New York, and Miami, where they were a huge success. We participated in many exhibitions and art fairs in Canada such as “One Of A Kind” in Toronto and the arts and crafts “Salon of Montreal”.

 

 

We received several awards and recognition: the Emerging Talent Award in 2003, a peer recognition and price favorite at “Salon of Montreal” crafts and the best booth prize in Toronto.

Our work was exhibited in galleries including Baie-Saint-Paul, the Iris Gallery, the Gallery Eden on Madison Street, New York, and also in several others in Montreal.

 

 

Our association ended in 2010. Since that time I have created my own body of work, which does not include metal.

I feel that my art and furniture pieces reflect the freedom expressed by sculptor-craftsmen like the creators of the Arts & Crafts movement in the nineteenth century or French and Belgian representatives of Art Nouveau around 1900, who transcended artistic categories.

 

 

I like to experience the physical capacity of the wood, creating anthropomorphic, dynamic life forms. I have a taste for the curve and bold combinations of colors and materials.

 

 

It is technically challenging to make these forms; curving maple or exotic wood, creating subtle cutouts in the material, assembling species of wood to achieve the harmonious balance of each piece …

More recently, I have rediscovered a certain attraction for more traditional forms which are modern and clean.

 

 

Each year since 2001, I have participated in the Memphremagog Arts Circuit, an exhibition of local artisans working in various artistic disciplines. Visitors are invited to meet the artists in their studios.

I think my work is halfway between an intimate revelation and grandiose promise. I can say that I am a passionate.

 

 

My home is located in the Eastern Townships, one of the most beautiful regions of Quebec. My studio doors open onto an enchanting forest. This is where I get my inspiration and energy to create. What I like about what I do is the feeling of freedom and sensation of endless time, two things very hard to find these days.

What excites me most is the way others look at my creations, and their surprise, wonder, and amazement. I feel privileged to do this work and to be in the wave of artistic creation.

 

 

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