• ANGELO GRANATA (1922-2009)

    ANGELO GRANATA: WHO'S AFRAID OF THE CIRCLE, SQUARE OR TRIANGLE

    January 10 - March 21, 2025

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.

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

Angelo Granata

Anodic Form

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

private US collection

University of Alabama faculty, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, ca. 1960

Angelo Granata (front right) with his sculpture Heteros

Angelo Granata

Heteros

1957
cast aluminum
approx. 17.75 by 12.5 by 5.5 in. (ca. 45,1 by 31,8 by 14 cm)

private US collection

Angelo Granata

untitled

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

Angelo Granata

Sematos

1960
hand-built white clay, sculpted wood, original wooden base
base incl. approx. 33 by 10 by 10 in. (ca. 84 by 25 by 25 cm)

private US collection

Angelo Granata

Augos

1960
sculpted wood, metal
approx. 144 by 19 by 24 in. (ca. 365,8 by 48,3 by 61 cm)

Angelo Granata

untitled

1958
hand-built clay, original wooden base
approx. 16.5 by 5 by 4 in. (ca. 41,9 by 12,5 by 10 cm)

currently ON HOLD

Angelo Granata

untitled

1958
sculpted soft-wood, original wooden base
approx. 19.5 by 5 by 4 in. (ca. 49,5 by 12,5 by 10 cm)

Angelo Granata

Silens

1958
welded and etched steel
approx. 11 by 12 by 13 in. (ca. 206 by 30,5 by 33 cm)

Angelo Granata

untitled

1961
sculpted ebony, original brass base
approx. 7.5 by 2 by 2 in. (ca. 19 by 5 by 5 cm)

private US collection

Angelo Granata

untitled

1961
cast aluminum, wood
approx. 13.5 by 14 by 4.75 in. (ca. 34,3 by 35,6 by 14,6 cm)

Angelo Granata

untitled

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

private US collection

Angelo Granata

untitled

1965
cast and machined aluminum
approx. 24.75 by 11 by 10.5 in. (ca. 63 by 28 by 26,7 cm)

Angelo Granata

Prora

1960’s
bronze
approx. 7.3 by 12 by 2.25 in. (ca. 18,5 by 30,5 by 5,7 cm)

private US collection

Angelo Granata

untitled

ca. 1965
cast and machined aluminum
approx. 11 by 11.75 by 10 in. (ca. 28 by 30 by 25,4 cm)

Angelo Granata

untitled

1960’s
metal
approx. 18 by 11 by 9.25 in. (ca. 46 by 28 by 23,5 cm)

Angelo Granata

untitled

1965
cast aluminum, original wooden base
approx. 13 by 9 by 9 in. (ca. 33 by 23 by 23 cm)

Angelo Granata

untitled

1970’s
cast acrylic
approx. 10.25 by 3.75 by 1.6 in. (ca. 26 by 9,5 by 4 cm)

currently ON HOLD

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

Angelo Granata

untitled

1990’s
metal
approx. 9.2 by 26 by 9.5 in. (ca. 23,4 by 66 by 24,1 cm)

currently ON HOLD

Angelo Granata

Triad

1990’s
aluminum
approx. 25 by 21.25 by 9.5 in. (ca. 63,5 by 54 by 24,1 cm)

private US collection

  • untitled

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

  • 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

  • untitled

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

  • untitled

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

  • untitled

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

  • untitled

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

  • untitled

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

  • untitled

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

  • 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

  • untitled

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

  • untitled

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

  • untitled

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

  • untitled

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

  • untitled

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

  • untitled

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

  • untitled

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

  • untitled

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

    private US collection

  • untitled

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

  • untitled

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

  • untitled

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

  • untitled

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

  • untitled

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

  • untitled

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

  • untitled

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

    private US collection

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.

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, among others. His 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.

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