Studio View 2

Portrait of Young Woman, terra cotta lifesize

Young Woman, lifesize terra cotta

Imaginary Portrait with view from Indian Tower

Imaginary Portrait, 22"X30", Oil on paper

Antonio's Imaginary Portrait of the Hindu Goddess Kali and more...

      These images were taken at Antonio's Studio in William's Township, Pa., where he retired to from New York City in the 60's.  

     Antonio was very much involved with Eastern religious and philosophical study and practice.  He was a student of Swami Brahmananda in NYC.  

Tony's sculpture of Swami Brahmananda

Brahmananda was a dicsciple of Sri Ramakrishna, the great Indian mystic and saint, so he was also guru brother to Swami  Vivekananda, another great and well  known Hindu Yogi.

Antonio's portrait of  Swami Vivekananda

Below is Tony's Imaginary Portrait of the Hindu Goddess Kali.

Circa 1950 he met a man whom he called his guru.  The English philosopher and writer Gerald Heard.  Around the same time he became involved in zen and zazen.  And from the time he was 59,  he meditated in zazen style 2 hours daily for over 390 years.

Antonio's head of Gerald Heard

'seated dancer' in Antonio Salemme's studio

It is important to understand the value of Antonio's work.  It is at once modern and classical.  It is truly an expression of American Classicism!  It is not Greek.  It is not Roman.  It is not Gothic.  It is not reactionary.  It is 20th C American Classicism and it is at the same time modern!  It is not simply representational but moves beatifully within itself and is a very original composition!  It is at once abstract and real.

Krishna and the Gopis, oil on canvas 30"x32"

A synthesis of East and West, Antonio's original 'western' take on the Hindu subject.

from 'the oxherding' series

Antonio did as sculpture environments, the stages of spiritual life and enlightment, expressed in the Zen tradition as the oxherding series.  There are, I believe, 6 two dimensional panels in the series. Here, of course, Antonio takes on, quite successfully, the story in 3 dimensions!  This is the first in the series where the man goes out to find and tame an ox.

 Here are a couple more from the series:
 





Here's a YouTube video of Antonio and Jeremy looking at the series:

 

Radha and Krishna, 22"x28", Imaginary

  oil on paper, $15,000

Small figure - around 8" high

Antonio with Johnny Carson circa 1987

photo of the Maestro