Angelo Granata

1922-2009

Abstract painting by Angelo Granata with three horizontal sections: top purple rectangle, middle orange texture, bottom red vertical columns.

Angelo Granata was born in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1922 and was the son of Italian immigrants Ettore and Secondina Granata. His father was a self-employed tile mason, which likely influenced his desire to become a sculptor, receiving a BA (1947) and MFA (1948) in studio sculpture from the University of Iowa where he also studied architecture and art history. Granata had been at the University of Iowa for three years prior to enlisting in the US Navy, attending midshipman school at Duke University and serving in the Pacific.

Upon returning to Iowa after the war to complete his studies, he met Clara Louise Woods, who he would marry in 1948 before coming to The University of Alabama in 1949 as one of the founding faculty members of the art department. He was professor of sculpture until his retirement in 1988. His work is included in the permanent collections of The University of Alabama; The University of Iowa; Grinnell College, IA; Cornell College, IA; Georgetown College, KY; and the Davenport Municipal Museum in Iowa.

1959 publication front page by the New York Museum of Modern Art reading "RECENT SCULPTURE USA" in bold, overlapping letters on a gray background.

Granata's work was included in the groundbreaking 1959 traveling exhibition Recent Sculpture U.S.A. at the Museum of Modern Art, MoMA, New York, alongside Ruth Asawa, Alexander Calder, John Chamberlain, Jacques Lipchitz, Larry Rivers, David Smith, ... many of whom instrumental in rewriting American post-war Art History.

Over the course of his 60 year long artistic career, his work work was included in exhibitions at Museum of Modern Art, New York City; Forum Gallery, New York City; the Boston Museum of Art; the Los Angeles Museum of Art ; the Denver Museum of Art; the St Louis Museum of Art; the Birmingham Museum of Art; the Delgado Museum of Art (now the New Orleans Museum of Art); the Wichita Museum of Art in Wichita, KS; the Des Moines Museum of Art in Des Moines, IA; the Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL; the Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TN; the Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC; as well as at the Departamento de Arte Yucatán in Mèridia, Yucatán, Mexico; and the Centro Colombo Americano, Cali, Colombia.

Black and white photo of an art gallery with abstract sculptures on display. A sculpture by Angelo Granata on a pedestal is in the center. A textured wall sculpture and a small object on a shelf are in the background.

Granata’s 1957 cast iron sculpture Arch Form (on pedestal) shown in the 1959 MoMA New York exhibition Recent Sculpture USA.

Wooden 1950's sculpture by Angelo Granata on display stand

Angelo Granata

untitled

1958
sculpted wood
approx. 3.25 by 12.75 by 6.5 in. incl. wooden base (ca. 8,3 by 32,4 by 16,5 cm incl. wooden base)

  • Abstract watercolor painting with irregular shapes in black, yellow, brown, and red tones on a beige background.

    untitled

    1956
    ink on paper
    approx. 22 by 14.75 in. (ca. 55,9 by 37,5 cm)

  • Abstract painting with flowing shapes in orange, purple, and yellow

    untitled


    ca. 1956
    ink on paper
    approx. 30 by 22.25 in. (ca. 76,2 by 56,5 cm)

    permanent collection of the University of Alabama’s Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

  • Abstract geometric painting with layered rectangles in shades of orange and yellow above concentric circles in red and orange.

    untitled

    1968
    ink on paper
    approx. 29.5 by 22.25 in. (ca. 74,9 by 56,5 cm)

  • Abstract artwork featuring three oval shapes with colorful patterns against a white background.

    untitled

    ca. 1970
    ink on paper
    approx. 30.25 by 22.5 in. (ca. 76,8 by 57,2 cm)

  • Abstract art with text and a circle arranged vertically on a white background

    untitled

    ca. 1970
    ink on paper
    approx. 30 by 22.5 in. (ca. 76,2 by 57,2 cm)

  • Abstract watercolor painting with layered textures in green, purple, and brown hues, resembling organic forms.

    untitled

    ca. 1970
    ink on paper
    approx. 30 by 22.5 in. (ca. 76,2 by 57,2 cm)

  • Abstract art with pastel shapes including a large brown circle, blue rectangles, and a lavender rectangle on a white background.

    untitled

    ca. 1970
    ink on paper
    approx. 30.25 by 22.5 in. (ca. 76,8 by 57,2 cm)

  • Abstract artwork with vertical and horizontal beige and orange stripes on a light background.

    untitled

    ca. 1970
    ink on paper
    approx. 30.25 by 22.25 in. (ca. 76,2 by 56,5 cm)

  • Abstract geometric artwork featuring an orange diamond shape with concentric circles and grid-like lines above blue intersecting brush strokes on a light background.

    untitled

    1971
    ink on paper
    approx. 29 by 21 in. (ca. 73,7 by 53,3 cm)

    permanent collection of the University of Alabama’s Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

  • Abstract artwork with geometric shapes, featuring an orange and yellow circle intersected by lines within a square on top, and a large yellow circle below, on a white background.

    untitled

    1971
    ink on paper
    approx. 30 by 22.5 in. (ca. 76,2 by 57,2 cm)

  • Abstract composition with concentric circles and semi-circles in red, orange, and yellow with a purple square in the center on a white background.

    untitled

    1972
    ink on paper
    approx. 29 by 21 in. (ca. 73,7 by 53,3 cm)

  • Abstract art with a dark brown square featuring a circular light center, above a brown and green rectangular shape on a light background.

    untitled

    ca. 1980
    ink on paper
    approx. 30.25 by 22.5 in. (ca. 76,8 by 57,2 cm)

Large work on paper with a red circle, blue square, and yellow triangle by Angelo Granata .

Angelo Granata

Who’s Afraid Of The Circle, Square Or Triangle

1970’s
ink on paper
approx. 60 by 40 in. (ca. 152,4 by 101.6 cm)

private US collection

Tall 1950's sculpted wood sculpture by Angelo Granata

Angelo Granata

Anodic Form

1956
sculpted wood
approx. 84 by 15 by 15 in. (ca. 213 by 38 by 38 cm)

private US collection

Tall 1950's sculpted wood sculpture by Angelo Granata
detail view of a tall 1950's sculpted wood sculpture by Angelo Granata
detail view of a tall 1950's sculpted wood sculpture by Angelo Granata
  • Abstract geometric artwork with blue, beige, and black shapes

    untitled

    1952
    ink on paper
    approx. 13.75 by 20.5 in. (ca. 34,9 by 52,1 cm)

  • Abstract artwork featuring four horizontal textured bands in brown and orange tones on a white background.

    untitled

    1959
    ink on paper
    approx. 22.25 by 30 in. (ca. 56,5 by 76,2 cm)

  • Abstract painting of stacked elongated shapes in shades of blue, gray, and brown on a light background.

    untitled

    1959
    ink on paper
    approx. 22.5 by 30 in. (ca. 57,2 by 76,2 cm)

    on hold for a US institution

  • Abstract geometric art with concentric circles and a central triangle

    untitled

    ca. 1960
    ink on paper
    approx. 15 by 20 in. (ca. 38,1 by 50,8 cm)

  • Abstract geometric artwork with overlapping circles in purple, blue, and yellow hues.

    untitled

    ca. 1960
    ink on paper
    approx. 15 by 20 in. (ca. 38,1 by 50,8 cm)

    private US collection

  • Abstract painting with curved shapes and earth tones on a white background.

    untitled

    ca. 1960
    ink on paper
    approx. 8.75 by 11.25 in. (ca. 22,2 by 28,6 cm)

  • Abstract artwork with layered shapes and textures in muted colors

    untitled

    ca. 1970
    ink on paper
    approx. 22.25 by 30 in. (ca. 56,5 by 76,2 cm)

  • Abstract artwork with two sections, featuring organic shapes and lines on a pale background.

    untitled

    ca. 1970
    ink on paper
    approx. 22.25 by 30 in. (ca. 56,5 by 76,2 cm)

  • Abstract painting with a blue horizontal cloud-like shape above a textured, multicolored orange and red area below.

    untitled

    ca. 1970
    ink on paper
    approx. 22.25 by 30 in. (ca. 56,5 by 76,2 cm)

  • Abstract painting with eight squares in two rows. The leftmost squares are dark, the center squares have diagonal orange lines, and the rightmost squares are purple. Each square is separated by grid lines.

    untitled

    1973
    ink on paper
    approx. 22.25 by 29.75 in. (ca. 56,5 by 75,6 cm)

  • Abstract art featuring three elongated shapes in orange, purple, and light gray on a white background.

    untitled

    mid-1970s
    ink on paper
    approx. 22.25 by 30 in. (ca. 56,5 by 76,2 cm)

  • Abstract painting with a purple rectangle, orange wavy lines, and red vertical shapes on a white background.

    untitled

    mid-1970s
    ink on paper
    approx. 22.5 by 30 in. (ca. 57,2 by 76,2 cm)

    private US collection

Abstract cast aluminum sculpture with geometric shapes by Angelo Granata

Angelo Granata

untitled

1963
cast aluminum
approx. 4.5 by 9 by 5.6 in. (ca. 11,4 by 23 by 14,2 cm)

Exhibitions

  • Sculpture by Angelo Granata titled 'Who's Afraid of the Circle, Square or Triangle', featuring a tall, abstract stone structure composed of geometric and organic shapes on a rectangular base, with the artist's name and lifespan (1922-2009) overlayed on the image.

    ANGELO GRANATA (1922-2009)

    WHO'S AFRAID OF THE CIRCLE, SQUARE OR TRIANGLE

    January 10 - March 21, 2025

    LEARN MORE

  • ANGELO GRANATA (1922-2009)

    January 12 - March 1, 2024

    SEE CHECK LIST