The visual arts community has lost a giant presence, with the passing of artist and teacher “Cecil” Popolo. He died last week (April 18) at age 90. (Read the Press & Sun Bulletin obituary here) Last October, Mr. Popolo honored the Broome County Arts Council by attending the opening of the exhibition “A. Wendell Gallagher & His Friends: When Modern Art Came to Binghamton”.
The exhibition featured works by Mr. Popolo and his post-WWII contemporaries. Collector Gil Williams curated the exhibition to showcase the first generation of local artists to adopt “modernist trends started in Europe by the surrealists, cubists and plein-aire stylists”. Here, Mr. Popolo poses with his daughter, son-in-law, a friend and Gil Williams.
Although Mr. Popolo and his pioneering generation are disappearing, their artistic influence can be seen in artist studios and on gallery walls throughout the Southern Tier and beyond. Rest well, Mr. Popolo. Thank you.
