Wright Auction

Leo Amino was acutely aware of broad movements happening in the art world and kept pace with the great artists of his time. Throughout his career, Amino innovated both in his use of new materials as well as the forms he produced with this material. Initially, the Surrealists provided a great deal of influence on his work, and Amino delved into the power of the unconscious mind.

Materially, Leo Amino is one of the most inventive artists of his time, and he is one of the first artists to utilize plastics in sculpture. These experiments involved many techniques producing multifarious results. Transparent resin was cast and formed into solid shapes with both a biomorphic or geometric silhouette. Amino would cast wire or abstract elements into the shapes as well as inject dyes into the forms producing numerous effects.  Amino also used a matrix of wire mesh which provided the framework for the application of polyvinyl acetate, more of a constructivist technique that differed from casting. This material was opaque and the textures and forms relate to architecture and construction as well as primordial sculpture. In another technique, clear plastic sheets were cut into small geometric shapes and glued together in a dense structure which produced abstract relief paintings as well as 3-dimensional assemblages. In the more prolific period at the end of his career, geometric forms in colored plastic reflected and refracted light producing optical effects in addition to aesthetic pursuits.

More than any other artist, Leo Amino was not afraid to shift styles or subject matter or limit himself to one material. The diverse range of style and material reflects an inquisitive and innovative artist immersed in the world in which he lived.