Ernest Tino Trova was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on February 19th, 1927. His
father was an industrial designer, an influence that was ultimately to play a
significant role in Trova's art. Trova attended no art schools, teaching
himself, learning intuitively. Referring to his rejection of academic training,
he has said- "Every kid draws but I became serious when I was about seventeen .
. . . Art study had nothing to do with it. I haven't studied, and I don't think
it's even necessary today. To paint a picture you don't have to have anybody
tell you what to do. There's a combination of how people work. Half of it is
instinct, and half of it is the thing you've acquired along the way,
experience."
Trova was represented by Pace Gallery from 1963 to 1985 holding his first one
man show in April 1963. Trova became one of the most sought-after sculptors of
the 20th century breaking new ground with his "Falling Man" series.
Boca Raton Museum of Art (www.bocamuseum.org),
Boca Raton, Florida, will be holding an Ernest Trova Retrospective
April 11 through June 3, 2007.
“Forty years of paintings, graphics, assemblages and sculptures by American
artist Ernest Trova (born in St. Louis 1927- ) reveal the artist’s infinite
variations on the theme of universal man’s journey through life, from the
apocalyptic expressionism of his visceral paintings from the late 1950s-60s to
his part classical-part futuristic figure of Falling Man. Trova's figures
function as metaphorical signs of rational man and his journey through life.
These works embrace with quiet dignity and infinite variations and adaptations,
the artist's lifelong investigation of man's movement through life, both
individual and collective.”
