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Image courtesy of the Estate of Hank Virgona
Artist Bio
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Virgona was first inspired by photography and the work of illustrator Jim Avati. In 1953, after finishing his military service with the U.S. Army, Virgona began working in the commercial art field, eventually winning several awards, including the Gold Medal at the Society of Illustrators. After giving up commercial work in the late 1960s, Virgona began to concentrate on his own ideas, which gradually evolved into still lifes in which the objects became metaphors for his feelings. Since the early 1970s, he has had over thirty solo exhibitions in the United States.
Virgona's work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Museum of the City of New York, NY; New York Public Library, NY; Wichita Museum of Art, KS; Skidmore College Print Collection, Saratoga Springs, NY; Massachusetts Institute of Technology Collections, MA; and others.
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Nothing Changes: Art for Hank's Sake
Directed by Matthew KaplowitzClips from Burning Hammer Productions documentary on Amazon Prime. Directed by Matthew Kaplowitz.
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Hank VirgonaThe Tribe: Parting of the Red SeaWatercolor on paper10 x 7 3/4 in
25.4 x 19.7 cm"An epiphany is the sudden unexpected understanding of a thought through no effort, which brings one great insight and joy. When you see a piece of my work, you feel something. Hopefully it’s a good feeling. I describe this as the 'sense of things' or the 'sense of the person' – that he or she 'looks right.' You might say that’s Gloria, that’s Jim, that’s a banana or that’s an apple, but I’m not drawing Gloria or Jim or a banana or an apple, I’m drawing how I FEEL about them. And so I come in every day in the hopes of making a discovery. How do I get some marks on the paper where most people believe it's Gloria, or a banana, or an apple? If I can, I have succeeded. I have conveyed the epiphany to another."
- Hank Virgona
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"That’s what Hank did. He studied people and objects, sought their essence, and tried to capture it on paper. For most of his life he did paintings of subway passengers, several of which are on display at the New York Transit Museum. We don’t see every detail of their faces, and their bodies may only be blobs of color, but we feel their energy, their fatigue, their dignity and heart.
For a while it was paper bags. He drew bag after bag—dozens, maybe hundreds—in his struggle to show bagness. When I asked how long he would continue to paint them, he said, 'Until I get it right.'"
-Ronald Kidd, independent writer
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Hank Virgona's Open Studio
Hank Virgona would participate in "Open Studios," an event created in 1980 that allowed the public to visit artist studios and take a peak into artistic processes. Virgona was among 75 other painters, sculptors, printmakers, potters and designers who held open studios at 41 Union Square West in Manhattan. He beleived it was important for visitors to see these spaces in its authenticity and even told fellow artists, "Remember, don't clean the place up too much."
-Karin Lipson, "Artists show in their Own Studios," Newsday (1940-1991), Oct 17, 1986, Nassau ed.
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Images Courtesy of the Estate of Hank Virgona
Hank Virgona
Current viewing_room
![Hank Virgona Subway: A Hard Day [NY Law Journal] Watercolor and marker on paper 8 x 10 in 20.3 x 25.4 cm](https://artlogic-res.cloudinary.com/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,fl_lossy,q_auto/artlogicstorage/saparcontemporary/images/view/e03d4cd6b60e3715c1991d1d30b0baf2j/saparcontemporary-hank-virgona-subway-a-hard-day-ny-law-journal.jpg)
![Hank Virgona Subway: Good Morning NY [NY Law Journal], 2014 6 1/4 x 8 1/4 in 15.2 x 21 cm](https://artlogic-res.cloudinary.com/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,fl_lossy,q_auto/artlogicstorage/saparcontemporary/images/view/643e2e901b2ab9737317ec5c9dea6962j/saparcontemporary-hank-virgona-subway-good-morning-ny-ny-law-journal-2014.jpg)
![Hank Virgona At Rest on the L-Train [NY Law Journal], 2014 8 x 10 in 20.3 x 25.4 cm](https://artlogic-res.cloudinary.com/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,fl_lossy,q_auto/artlogicstorage/saparcontemporary/images/view/251448d8a9d8a3f29d6c620a755b1d96j/saparcontemporary-hank-virgona-at-rest-on-the-l-train-ny-law-journal-2014.jpg)
![Hank Virgona Subway: Jazz Man Snoozes [NY Law Journal], 2013 Watercolor and marker on paper 7 3/4 x 10 1/2 in 19.7 x 26.7 cm](https://artlogic-res.cloudinary.com/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,fl_lossy,q_auto/artlogicstorage/saparcontemporary/images/view/05dd78bc1ec30a96c22ec941c711637ej/saparcontemporary-hank-virgona-subway-jazz-man-snoozes-ny-law-journal-2013.jpg)
![Hank Virgona Subway: Morgan's Ride Home [The New Yorker], 2013 Watercolor and marker on paper 7 3/8 x 10 3/4 in 18.7 x 27.3 cm](https://artlogic-res.cloudinary.com/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,fl_lossy,q_auto/artlogicstorage/saparcontemporary/images/view/827d2cc6c219ce296cc4ed6f689882b0j/saparcontemporary-hank-virgona-subway-morgan-s-ride-home-the-new-yorker-2013.jpg)
![Hank Virgona Subway: Pole Sleeper [NY Law Journal], 2013 7 x 9 in 17.8 x 22.9 cm](https://artlogic-res.cloudinary.com/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,fl_lossy,q_auto/artlogicstorage/saparcontemporary/images/view/3b2f21dcf9e473a4063129ea0d8107cej/saparcontemporary-hank-virgona-subway-pole-sleeper-ny-law-journal-2013.jpg)
