Rosaria Aestus Vigorito

STATEMENT

I am an Italian-American, a lesbian, a retired NY lawyer and law librarian professor, and an ovarian cancer survivor, but my calling is that of an artist.  I rediscovered my childhood passion for art as an adult.  I studied with various artists in NYC, and received an MFA from the Graduate School of Figurative Arts of the NY Academy of Art. 
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The fluency of different media I use to create includes painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and digital mixed media collage.  The latter, incorporates the fusion of elements taken from different media, both non-digital and digital, and their manipulation in computer post-production.  In turn, those images may be or become subjects for paintings.

As for my philosophy on art, it serves as a bridge from our primal essence to our higher selves, and further extending to the divine. My personal aspiration is to engage my inner “aestus,” i.e., passionate fire, to transcend beyond just the pretty picture.  I hope to produce a genre of works that, even with discomfort, stimulates and stirs the senses, emotionally and psychologically provoke and draw in the viewer, and honestly address matters of the human spirit.

CURRICULUM VITAE

SOLO EXHIBITION
2016- Invited Artist “Mosaic of Inner States”. Spectrum Fair Miami’16. Contemporary Art Projects USA
2016- I Piaggliacci. Stork’s Café. Wilton Manors. FL
2016- Invited Artist. “Mosaic of Inner States”. Spectrum Fair Miami’16. Contemporary Art Projects USA
2008- Borgo Fantasma. Photography exhibit and full-length documentary film premiere in Campania. Italy
2007- Borgo Fantasma, Vecchio Romagnano al Monte. Full-length documentary film in the New Film Maker's Festival at the NY Anthology of Film.
2006- Italian Ghost Town, Vecchio Romagnano al Monte. Italian American Museum. Italy
2006- Borgo Fantasma, Vecchio Romagnano al Monte. Full-length documentary film, self-directed, filmed, edited (Final Cut) & subtitled.
2004- Italian Ghost Town/ Borgo Fantasma. The Gallery at Chelsea Eye. NY
2004- Vecchio Romagnano al Monte. Garibaldi-Meucci Museum. NY
2003- Italian Ghost Town / Borgo Fantasma & New 2004 Photographs. David Ryan Salon Gallery. NY
2003- Il Vecchio Romagnano al Monte. CUNY School of Law. NY
2002- American Cancer Society Lesbian & Transgender Project. Langston Hughes Atrium. Schomburg Museum. NY
 
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2017- The Naughty Show. Arts United. Tedd’s Art Works. Wilton Manors. FL
2017- Broward Art Guild - Tri-County Biennial 2017. ArtServe. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2017- Art & Soul. Business for the Arts of Broward.  3rd Annual Fundraiser. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2017- Under the Surface. Tedd’s Art Works. Wilton Manors. FL
2017- HeartThrob2.Tedd’s Art Works. Wilton Manors. FL
2017- ArtBRAVO! Juried Fine Art Show ArtServe. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2017- Landscapes. Broward Art Guild Gallery. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2017- ArtExplosion. ArtsUnited Show 2017. ArtServe. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2017- Winter Spectacular Salon. Broward Art Guild Gallery. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2016- Barcelona International Art Fair. Museu Marítim de Barcelona. Spain
2016- Women of the Visual Arts: The Artful Spirit. Armory Art Center. West Palm Beach. FL
2016- Breast Fest. The Pride Center. Wilton Manors. FL
2016- BA Contemporary 2016 Vienna. Biennale Austria
2016- “Art2 (Art Squared)” Exhibit. Broward Art Guild Gallery. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2016- 2016 Summer Sizzle. Broward Art Guild Gallery. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2016- Art Santa Fe’16. Contemporary Art Projects USA. Santa Fe. New Mexico
2016- Redeye Exhibit. ArtServe. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2016- Red, White and Blue Exhibit. Broward Art Guild Gallery. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2016- “EROTIKA”. Art & Design Gallery. Miami. FL
2016- Art-rageous. Tedd’s Art Works Gallery. Wilton Manors. FL
2016- Art & Poetry. The Ekphrastic Fantastic. Broward Art Guild Gallery. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2016- Photography & 3D-Sculpture. Broward Art Guild Gallery. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2016- Art Florida Juried Exhibit. JM Family Enterprises Gallery at ArtServe. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2016- Counter-Pose. Curator’s Voice Art Projects. Wynwood. FL
2016- Art Florida Salon de Refuses. Broward Art Guild Gallery. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2016- Spectrum Indian Wells. Contemporary Art Projects USA. CA
2016- Spring Fling. Broward Art Guild Gallery. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2016- 6th Annual Women in History. The Pride Center at Equality Park. Wilton Manors. FL
2016- ArtBRAVO! Juried Fine Art Show ArtServe. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2016- Winter Spectacular. Broward Art Guild Gallery. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2015- present- Gallery Art. Aventura. FL
2015- Premium Art Basel Season 2015. Curator’s Voice Art Projects. Wynwood. FL
2015- Help-Hope-Nepal Mural Show. Spectrum Fair Miami. Curated by the Contemporary Art Projects USA
2015- Unwrapped. Members’ Exhibit ArtServe. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2015- Small Works. Broward Art Guild Gallery. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2015- 65th Anniversary Members’ Exhibit. Gallery 6. Broward Country Main Library. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2015- Abstractions. Broward Art Guild Gallery. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2015- Small Format/Affordable Art Exhibition. Paul Fisher Gallery. Contemporary Art Projects USA, West Palm. FL
2015- Salon 2015 Juried Show. Curator’s Voice Art Projects. Wynwood. FL
2015- Big ArtServe. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2015- Think Pink Art Exhibit. Broward Art Guild Gallery. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2015- “Human” Art Exhibit. Broward Art Guild Gallery. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2015- Redeye Exhibit ArtServe. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2015- Portals. Broward Art Guild Gallery. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2015- 2015 Summer Sizzle. Broward Art Guild Gallery. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2015- Inside/Out! Art as healing therapy. ArtServe. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2015- Icon. Women Who Changed the World. The Pride Center at Equality Park. Wilton Manors. FL
2008- BWAC Group Show. Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition. NYC
2008- Leche-Vitrines Art Alliance Group Show. Juried exhibition. Fort Lauderdale. FL
2004- 4th Annual Orensanz International Arts. Angel Orensanz Foundation Center for the Arts. NYC
2003- Vision of Your Dreams Art Show. Angel Orensanz Foundation Center for the Arts. NYC
2003- Graduate Diploma Project Exhibit. New York Academy. NYC
1995- Art Center of Northern New Jersey. Group Show, New Milford. NJ
 
AWARDS
2016-  Third Prize Juried Pick. Art-Rageous. Tedd’s Art Works Gallery. Wilton Manors. FL
2015- Honorific Mention in Photography. Salon 2015 Juried Show. Curator’s Voice Art Projects. Wynwood. FL