| "How fortunate is the soul who sees a glimpse of God when he
looks at trees," wrote painter, sculptor John Giordano. Culled from one of the
many poems the artist composed toward the end of his life, this sentiment captured Mr.
Giordano's artistic theme. Throughout his career, God and nature acted as both inspiration
and subject. 
Born in 1912 in New York's Lower East Side, Mr.
Giordano came of age during the Great Depression. His parents arrived in America
from Italy during the wave of immigration at the turn of the century. Both his parents'
occupations--his father was a tailor and his mother did needlework--instilled in the young
Mr. Giordano a sense of craft and discipline. When he was ten years old, his family
moved to North Bergen, New Jersey, where the young John Giordano was first exposed
to nature. "Trees, fields, a flowing brook, reflecting on these makes me
sad and perhaps is a preview of things to come," he wrote decades later. The
"preview" suggests his early landscapes and sketches which included mountains,
hills, green fields, and oceanscapes. At age twelve, he enrolled in the
Leonardo da Vinci School in New York City. He came under the tutelage of painter Michael
Falanga and sculptor Atilio Piceirili. One year later he received a scholarship to
continue his studies, which later led him to the National Academy.
In 1936, he married Angie Lorreto. The couple
was blessed with three children: Alexander, Susan, and John. In 1956, the family
relocated to Los Angeles, California. It was there, in his makeshift art
studio in the garage, that Mr Giordano created his greatest works. From the
early 1960s through to the mid 1980s, Mr. Giordano painted numerous still lifes, some
portraits, 13 landscapes, three mural-size paintings depicting the Birth, Death, and
Ressurection of Christ, and 59 charcoal drawings. In addition he made 13 small sculptures
depicting the Last Supper and two sculptures of Mary Grieving over Jesus (the Pieta).
In the late 1980s he was stricken with an optic nerve
disorder. From that time until his death in 1994, Mr. Girodano composed many poems and
essays on God and nature. Strongly influenced by Renaissance art, in particular the life
and work of Michelangelo, Mr. Giordano followed a similar course by accepting Christ into
his life during his last years, later writing,"The hope of this world lies not in
mystery but rather rests long and loud on Christ's truth."
Written by
Kevin Giordano
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as they are received. |
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