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About Richard

Richard Giglio, an American born artist, was raised in New Rochelle, New York, and graduated from Pratt Institute. In his early years as a young artist living in Manhattan, he worked as assistant to Gene Moore, Display Director of Tiffany & Co. and Bonwit Teller, and the undisputed original master of elegant and avant-garde New York high-end store display. Giglio created background art for Bonwit Teller's fashion windows as well as original artwork for both Bloomingdales and Tiffany & Co.

Giglio spent many years covering the couture collections in Paris, London and Milan, contributing his fashion illustrations to Glamour, Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, Harpers-Queen, and The New York Times.

During the following years, Giglio participated in group and one-man shows at Donghia Inc. in New York City, White Walls Gallery in New York City, Lucky Street Gallery in Key West, Florida, Harrison Gallery in Boca Raton, Florida, Brown Gallagher Gallery in New York City, and Youngblood Gallery in Sag Harbor, New York. He continued his commercial art career as well with Henri Bendel, Donghia Inc., and Seventh on Sixth, among others.

In 1999, Giglio created and directed the Exhibition Decor for Theatre de la Mode at the New York Costume Institute, Metropolitan Museum of Art. He has also created original artwork, both large scale installations and more intimate pieces, for public spaces such as the Brea Mall in Los Angeles, Lenox Square in Atlanta, the Russian Tea Room in New York City, the Bath and Body Works owned by the Limited, and the Gilly Hicks Shops owned by Abercrombie & Fitch.

Giglio says there have been three major influences in his life and art from the very beginning - Henri Matisse, Billie Holiday and Maria Callas - and his paintings and collages, ranging from pure black and white pieces to full out explosions of color, reflect these influences. Many of the pieces depicted in the selection of work shown on this website were created by Giglio while the voices of Callas and Holiday alternately filled his studios. He calls Key West, Florida, his main base of operation now, but keeps a working studio on Manhattan's Upper West Side for when he feels the need to flee the azure blue water and amazing light of the lower Florida Keys and get a fix of New York City's energy and contemporary art scene.

Many of the black and white works seen here and in Giglio's 2008 one-man show on 7 at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City suggest Giglio's accomplishment in 2003 at Manhattan's super-chic City Club Hotel on 44th Street. Giglio created a large black and white collage for the City Club's lobby and also created original black and white artwork for every guest room.

While Giglio loves to draw, paint and collage in color, as evidenced by his artwork and calligraphy done for famed photographer Bruce Weber's publication celebrating the beauty and sensuality of Brazil, O Rio, he particularly enjoys working in black and white. In Key West or New York, Giglio's favorite way to pass an evening is to curl up in front of the television and watch Turner Classic Movies. Whether it's Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity or Roberto Rosselini's Open City, Giglio believes nothing captures the emotional depth and complexity of life more than black and white, and he loves to reflect this in his work.

But, as stated above, Giglio does not limit himself to black and white. Spending so much time in Key West living amidst such a palette of natural, beautiful color is clearly reflected in his many signature red pieces as well as those creations bursting with every hue imaginable. Even in some of his largely black and white pieces, one can see hints of color, strategically placed blues, yellows, purples, and pinks.

Giglio's work is collected by, among others, Calvin Klein, Bruce Weber, Valentino, Ron Perlman, Jeff Klein, Mitchell Rubin, Jeffrey Bilhuber, Bob Bray, Sheri Donghia, Susan Slover, Baron and Baroness Philippe Lambert, Franca Sozzani, Geoffrey Ross, John Dransfield, Dennis Helewa, and Susan Freedman.