Anna Guarneri, Work
Stained glass, 7 x 7 x 9”. 2023.
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. Figures, structures, and colors in my work hint at meaning but resist identification.
Much of my work also explores the devotional and decorative connotations of stained glass. In my series Altar’d Shapes, the medium elevates and objectifies forms from my drawings through illumination and upright display. In The Stacks, tonal shifts turn 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.
Anna Guarneri is a Philadelphia-based visual artist who works in various media, including drawing, painting, and stained glass. Guarneri’s work explores the possibilities of suggestive, nonliteral imagery. She uses crude marks and associations to tap into early human experience, pulling from a range of sources - ancient art, architecture, dance history, and her own body. Originally from Oakland, California, Guarneri received a bachelor's degree in cultural history from the University of Pennsylvania and studied art at North Seattle College and Gage Academy of Art in Seattle, Washington. Since 2019, she has exhibited work at galleries in Washington, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
