Michael Aviano

"The Monk King II" realist portrait by Michael Aviano

From Cavalier Galleries: Artist Michael Aviano has been drawing since childhood. His first oil paintings were done when he was in junior high school. In the 1940’s Michael applied to the Art Students League, NYC, where the school director, Steward Klonis, was so impressed by his talent that he immediately enrolled him in Frank J. Reilly’s painting class. This was an honor, as it often took up to two years to gain entrance into Reilly’s classes. Frank J. Reilly studied with the famous League teacher, Frank Vincent Dumond (American 1865-1951), who in turn studied under Benjamin Constant (1845-1902), Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1836-1911) and Gustave Boulanger (1824-1888), important painters of the French Academic Tradition. During his years at the Art Students League, Michael received annual scholarships and awards for his excellence in painting. Michael Aviano began exhibiting his work in New York in the 1960’s and built a reputation as an outstanding portrait and still life painter. The 1970’s brought Michael to Grand Central Art Galleries, NYC , the country’s premier gallery of American Realism. There his work was shown alongside such masters as Emil Carlsen, John Singer Sargent, George Innes, William Merritt Chase and such contemporaries as David Leffel, Richard Schmid, Charles Pfahl, and Priscilla Roberts. The catalog cover and invitation for the 59th Annual Founders Exhibition at Grand Central Galleries featured Michael’s painting The Collector. As the 1980’s came to an end, so, too, did the era of Grand Central Art Galleries. The early 1990’s brought Michael to an important crossroad in his life as a painter. He decided that he would no longer paint portraits, but would continue teaching and painting floral still life. In 2010 he won the prestigious Juror’s Choice Award from the Susan Kathleen Black Foundation for his floral painting Youthful Flowers, Youthful Triton, which will be included in the foundation’s “Blossom—Art of Flowers” national tour. He also focuses his energy on creating important figure paintings. Michael is considered one of the pre-eminent figure painters working today. Michael Aviano lives a very private and spiritual life which is devoted to painting. His larger works such as Mars and Venus can take up to three years to reach their grand conclusion. EDUCATION The Arts Students League, New York, NY, 4 year scholarship Studied under Frank J. Reilly, Ivan Olinsky, and Edwin Dickenson EXHIBITIONS Naples Museum of Art, Naples, FL Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ Susan Kathleen Black Foundation: Blossom—Art of Flowers national exhibition, Parrish Art Museum: 26th Annual Juried Exhibition of Art, New York, NY National Academy of Design, New York, NY Salmagundi Club, New York, NY National Arts Club, New York, NY Hudson Valley Art Association, New York Union League Club, New York, NY Parrish Art Museum, South Hampton, NY Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, MA S.U.N.Y. Plattsburgh Art Museum, New York Museum of the City of New York, New York Cavalier Galleries: Figurative Group Show, Greenwich, CT Cavalier Galleries: Contemporary Still Life New York, NY FOUNDED Aviano Academy of Fine Arts, New York, NY