Donald Gialanella Sculpture

Topanga Sculptor Exhibits Blue Steel Horse, March 24

Emmy Award-winning artist represented in james gray gallery show

It's not every day you see a life-size blue horse, but artist and Topanga resident Donald Gialanella makes the unusual a reality. His remarkable horse is constructed of steel sheets shaped by hand and welded atop an anatomically accurate steel armature. The transparent blue opalescent finish is a closely guarded secret.

"Painted Pony' will be exhibited at the James Gray Gallery in Bergamot Station, Santa Monica. The opening reception is Saturday March 24, 6-9 pm., and features works by Donald Gialanella, Paul Bedard, Gottfried Helnwein, Notio, Andy Warhol, Don Morris, and many more.

To create this sculpture, Gialanella shaped recycled steel pieces together over a steel framework. Forming each individual section to the desired shape at the anvil before welding it into position allows direct spatial control of the sculpting process. He builds up the complete animal "in situ" using the real time visual feedback of seeing the anatomy unfold.

Gialanella comments, "Sculpture that embodies an animal is a metaphor for man's sense of imminent domain over the natural world. The sculpture may also serve as a memorial to the beauty and variety of life on earth and as an aesthetic reminder of our precarious relationship to the animal kingdom."

ABOUT THE ARTIST: Donald Gialanella is a Topanga resident. He graduated magna cum laude with a BFA from The Cooper Union in New York, worked as assistant to Louise Bourgeois, taught art at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey and was an Emmy winning Graphics Producer at ABC in NYC. His sculptures are exhibited in sculpture parks, public spaces, museums and galleries.