Tony Armeni

​Throughout my life I have been assembling things. I’ve always loved the challenge of creation. The processes and materials I work with today are much the same as those from my youth.

With my dad I built soap box derby cars and was introduced to the world of power tools and materials like wood, metal, auto body filler/fiberglass, and acrylic lacquer. When I outgrew the derby I customized real cars and, for a while, fostered a desire of becoming a car designer.

My academic background in formal design allows me to create works both large and small. Over the span of my artistic career, I have developed two main bodies of work. The first includes smaller, more precious objects that incorporate elements of nature and the man-made. The second is a series of works at human scale. Some combine celestial models or compasses with the human form. Most are abstract, steel, and rusty brown: homage to my rust belt town. A branch of my work includes motorized sculptures: one is based on a carnival tea cup ride.  Others use motors to spin bowling balls for various effects. I like to instill in my work a sense of play, movement, and an emphasis on the triumph of the human spirit.

Over time, I have developed a fondness for clay and steel: clay for its malleability and steel for its rigidity, mass, and structural possibilities. Surface treatment varies with the given form of a work. The materials I use (fiberglass, two part epoxy, acrylic lacquers and urethanes, and varied bits of plastic or metal) means the combinations are endless.

Selling direct to the public and also on Etsy