Tag Archives: Jyl Bonaguro

Phenomenal Nativity The Art Institute of Chicago’s spectacular Neapolitan Nativity will be available for viewing through Jan. 6. The display contains more than 200 painted terra cotta figures staged in an elaborate environment inspired by 18th-century Naples. Made by a range of artists from the 1700s through the 1800s, the Nativity was first collected by Vincenzo Porcini, an art dealer in Naples, who then hired Alfredo Laino, a specialist in Neapolitan crèche scenography, to design and construct the detailed setting. Due to the fragility of the original silk costumes and exquisite embroidery, the Art Institute’s crèche can only be on …

Having taught herself to sculpt marble, Jyl Bonaguro has set her sights on a contemporary re-imagining of one of the medium’s towering masterworks. For years, Jyl Bonaguro had a vision so clear it was almost haunting: sculpting a female figure in marble on the scale of Michelangelo’s David. Bonaguro, the current president of Chicago Sculpture International, is fundraising for her project to create Modern Athena, which has received grants from the Illinois Arts Council and the Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation. Bonaguro tells Fra Noi about her passion for art, how she found her way to sculpting, and her determination to …