John Grillo (American 1917-2014) "Tango" Artist Proof Serigraph. Pencil signed. Measures - 27" high x 20 1/2" wide, + 5" frame. John Grillo was an American Abstract Expressionist painter whose brightly colorful works represent a unique vision with the movement. His works are appreciated for their golden luminosity and lush brushwork that is comparable to earlier masterful painters such as J.M.W. Turner or Peter Paul Rubens. Filled with a lyrical rhythmic quality, Grillo once said that “abstract painting is on a level with music. It’s a physical outburst from your whole being. It’s not the idea that is created and then you start painting. It’s always a challenge to shape something from nothing, to do the impossible.” Born on July 4, 1917 in Lawrence, MA, the young artist was initially influenced by the Ashcan School of painters, including John Sloan and Robert Henri, while attending the Hartford School of Fine Arts. After serving in the US Navy, he studied at the San Francisco School of Fine Arts under Bay Area Figurative artist Richard Diebenkorn before moving to New York and taking classes with Hans Hofmann, who became and lifelong influence on and supporter of Grillo. Today, his works are in the collections of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Grillo died on November 26, 2014 in Hyannis, MA.