MORE ABOUT “AFTERWARDS”

The sculptures in Afterwards also can be understood collectively as a kind of morality tale, a fable about the rise and fall of an imagined empire that indulged in its hubris. In this exhibition Cervino creates odd combinations of sculptural components as if they are the remnants of a once great civilization and encourages the viewer to imagine this long lost culture at its height, as well as in its ruin. In this present moment of significant social and political upheaval, Cervino reflects on the forgotten promises of the mid- to late-twentieth century. His objects allude obliquely to the optimism of the Space Age (seen in ethos of 1964 World’s Fair or in the premise of the television series Star Trek), and to the accompanying responsibilities of equality and justice that one might associate with a future utopia. His works do not overtly celebrate wistful nostalgia, but rather push the recent past into a kind of archeological record as a way to call, now, for a new hope. 



Artist’s biography

Anthony Cervino is an artist-educator who has exhibited his work professionally for over 20 years. He has been teaching sculpture at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA since 2006. Conceptually (and speaking broadly), most of Cervino’s sculptures draw on personal memory, a sense of cultural nostalgia, and notions of boyhood. Visually, he approaches these subjects with an eclectic hand. Using both made forms and manipulated found objects, Cervino focuses on object-based compositions that tend to investigate conflicting notions of identity such as hero/coward, masculine/feminine, and victim/victimizer, among other formal and conceptual considerations. A native of Pennsylvania, Cervino studied art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Towson University before settling in Carlisle, PA. His sculptures have been shown regionally, nationally, and internationally, and his artworks been included in recent exhibitions at the Susquehanna Museum of Art in Harrisburg, PA, The Gallery at Flashpoint in Washington, DC, the Institute of Contemporary Art at the Maine College of Art, the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art, The Arlington Arts Center, and the Minneapolis College Of Art & Design, among others. Cervino is also the co-director of Ejecta Projects, an independent art gallery located in Carlisle, PA.

Anthony Cervino’s website

Ejecta Projects’ website