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Piero Aversa
Italian American Modernist Pattern Painting Key West Kitty Cat Piero Aversa Art

c.1970's

About the Item

Mixed media on panel. Sprawling cat. Hand signed lower right. Dimensions: (Frame) H 8.25" x W 10.25" (Board) H 5" x W 7" Piero Aversa was born in Asmara, Eritrea, East Africa, educated at the Belle Arte in Rome, and lived and exhibited worldwide. He moved to the US in 1953. Piero Aversa was passionate about many facets of artistic expression. A larger than life Gay Artist, he enjoyed the company of many jet setters in New York City during his Fashion and Interior Design days. Originally from Italy he finally settled in Key West, Florida where the largest collection of his art is displayed. His talents span design in fabrics, wall covering, jewelry and films as well as the fine arts. The exhibition in Rome in 1959, of “The Most Beautiful Women of Rome”, catapulted him to international recognition. In New York, he designed celebrity mannequins for the windows of Saks Fifth Avenue. The depicted “New York's high-born, wealthy jet-setters” included Louise Savitt, Baby Jane Holzer and Wendy Vanderbilt. He is acknowledged for his sensitivity to the different lands he had been inspired by, from the primitive backdrops of Greek Mythology to the botanical lushness of Mexico, Italy, Greece and the Southern United States. He established his own line of wallpapers and fabrics, receiving praise for his interior design of suites at the historic Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida. Aversa was collected by actresses Katherine Hepburn and Agnes Moorehead; diplomat and prominent New York socialite, Francis Kellogg; gallery owner, Julius Fleischmann; society songstress and millionaire industrialist, Mr. & Mrs. David Muss; and American songwriter, Jule Styne. He was also collected by various Italian nobility, Count and Countess Scribani Rossi from Rome, Principessa Niky Boncompagni, and Countess Alicia Paolozzi from Rome. The arrival of Piero in Mykonos, Greece and opening of his bar in the early 70's began a somewhat historical era for the gay community of the time. His work has a Surrealist quality that reminds me of Van Eno another Key West art scene stalwart. From an Artforum magazine review, Piero Aversa: A collection of Florals and Cats in a style as close to Grandma’s needlepoint as you can get with a paintbrush. Among the happiest are “Cat On A Hot Tin Box,” “Daisy Cat,” “Pillow Play,” and “View From The Floor.” The flowers are merely flowers, but if these pussycats don’t provide you with the answer to what’s new, nothing will. Bring your own cat-nip. —Estelle Kurzen
  • Creator:
    Piero Aversa (1953, Italian)
  • Creation Year:
    c.1970's
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 8.25 in (20.96 cm)Width: 10.25 in (26.04 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    good. minor wear commensurate with age. please see photos. can use a new mat.
  • Gallery Location:
    Surfside, FL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU38211887272

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