Artist Statement

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My work explores the possibilities of suggestive, nonliteral imagery. I use crude marks and associations to tap into early human experience, pulling from a range of sources - ancient art, architecture, dance history, and my own body. The result is a visual connection that feels tangible and intimate, but still unnamable.

Much of my work also plays with the devotional connotations of stained glass, my primary medium. In the series Altar’d Shapes, the medium elevates and objectifies forms from my drawings through illumination and upright display. In The Stacks, colors conjure poignant associations, turning gridded glass structures into celebrations, memorials, or premonitions.

My series of mixed media self-portraits builds on my interest in early human experience. These works draw inspiration from Upper Paleolithic “Venus” figurines, some of the earliest examples of figurative art. While the figurines were long thought to be fertility symbols or fetish objects, an alternative theory is that they were self-portraits made by women looking down at their own bodies. The series presents variations on the female nude with a playful, revisionist lens.

My latest body of work, Body/Building, considers the relationship between humans and architectural structures, and between color and memory. Connections are varied and personal: some artworks reference a specific building or architectural feature with a human attribute, association, or story. Others are suggestive of figures, or otherwise evoke human presence. Colors recall visual worlds from my childhood.

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Artist Bio

Anna Guarneri is a Philadelphia-based visual artist who works in various media, including drawing, painting, and stained glass. Originally from Oakland, California, Guarneri received a bachelor's degree in cultural history from the University of Pennsylvania and studied art at Gage Academy of Art in Seattle, Washington. Since 2019, she has exhibited work at galleries in Washington state, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

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Education

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
BA in Cultural History

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Continuing Education

NYC Crit Club, Brooklyn, NY
Research and Critique

North Seattle College, Seattle, WA
Color Theory

Gage Academy of Art, Seattle, WA
Studio Arts Intensive

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Teaching

2024
James C. Whitney Scholarship, American Glass Guild

Merit-based scholarship, Pittsburgh Glass Center

2023 Instructor, Introduction to Stained Glass, Art Club, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA

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Affiliations

American Glass Guild

InLiquid

Stained Glass Association of America

Center for Emerging Visual Artists

DaVinci Art Alliance

Exhibitions

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Solo

2023 Body/Building, Gallery 26, Lansdowne, PA

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Selected Group

2024
Works on Paper 2024, Long Beach Island Foundation, Long Beach, NJ

‍At the Edge of Light and Darkness, curated by Angela McQuillan, CFEVA, Philadelphia, PA

Inside Out, Upside Down, and Sideways, DVAA, Philadelphia, PA

2023
‍Craft: A Force in Contemporary Art, curated by Annabel Keenan, Site:Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY (online)

The Calm Before the Storm, curated by Chelsea Luster, CFEVA, Philadelphia, PA

An Assembled Trace, curated by Samantha Connors and Bryant Girsch, DVAA, Philadelphia, PA

2022
‍215|610 Contemporary, curated by Alex Klein, Delaware County Community College, Media, PA

$99 Sale Exhibition, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA

Chroma, Nova Dance Company, Performance Garage, Philadelphia, PA

People, FRIEDA, Philadelphia, PA

Collective Awareness, DVAA, Philadelphia, PA

On Neutral Ground, Vestige Concept Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA

Bird’s Eye/Worm’s Eye, Hamilton Street Gallery, Bound Brook, NJ

2020
‍Covid Creations, Living Artists Collective, Seattle, WA

HerStory, Allied Arts, Richland, WA

Around the Square, Studio 103 Gallery, Seattle, WA

Best of Gage, 2nd Place Abstract, Gage Academy of Art, Seattle, WA

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Press

Qureshi, Corey, An Assembled Trace at DaVinci Art Alliance explores the use and waste of materials, Artblog, April 26, 2023

Degrassa, Peg, Lansdowne’s Gallery 26 created a space to showcase young artists, Delco Times, September 9, 2023

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