BIO + CV
Sal Cosenza (b. 1988) is a painter, design educator, illustrator, short story writer, and former architectural designer, who is best known for his paintings that depict anthropomorphic characterizations of famous buildings and other iconography. His work often focuses on urban and New York-related subjects. Cosenza's paintings are largely Surrealist, objective, and contemporary, and are characterized by their intricate detailing and symbolism. Common themes explored in his work include love, mood, satire, domestic life, architecture, global events, utopian ideals, dystopian imagery, film noir, and spirituality. He is the recipient of numerous art and design awards, including the 2015 First Prize in Architecture from the City College of New York's 8th Annual Graduate Student Symposium, and the 2006 VASA (Visual Arts Scholastic Award) from the West Valley Art Museum. Arcadia News describes his work as "aware of the problems our world faces," and "a way to bring positivity into the world." [1]
CAREER
After September 11th, 2001, Cosenza - then fourteen years old - became heavily influenced by Manhattan's iconography, and its buildings have been prevalent in his paintings ever since. From 2002 to 2022, Cosenza created several notable and award-winning series, including the Manhattan (2002-2020) and Domestic New York (2006-2019) collections, as well as House Trilogy (2021), Resilient Love (2021), Windows To The Soul (2022), and The Stranger (2008-2021) - all of which exhibit anthropomorphic tendencies. Other notable pieces include New York On My Mind (2004), The Chrysler Crucifixion (2005), Derailing Liberty (2017), Out Of The Darkness, Into The Light (2018), Emerald City 2.0 (2022), Neon Jazz & Cocktails (2022), Monuscape (2023) and its sequels, Monuscape Moon (2023) and Monuscape Mystique (2023). In 2024, Sal released his latest self-portrait series titled Neon Blooze, which conveys deeply personal experiences about lost love, the unpredictability of life, and the role of art.
Cosenza has also created illustrations and written short stories for various publications, including celebrity make-up artist Carmindy's book, Bloom: A Girl's Guide to Growing Up Gorgeous, as well as Commercial Observer, a New York-based real-estate magazine.
Cosenza began painting professionally in 2002, and his work has been carried at Scottsdale's Art One Gallery, owned by Kraig Foote, since 2005. His paintings have also been showcased at West Valley Art Museum (AZ), Teatro LATEA (NYC), Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, and LaGuardia Community College (NYC), as well as various fine arts boutiques, furniture stores, restaurants, coffee shops, libraries, churches, and college campuses throughout Arizona and New York. His work hangs in many private collections across the United States, including the Scottsdale Mayor's Office and the Autism Academy for Education and Development.
In 2011, Cosenza formed SAL COSENZA ART + DESIGN, which oversees all paintings and design work coming out of his independent studio. He later established UNUM STUDIO, LLC. in 2019, as a legal umbrella for all independent projects.
From 2015 to 2019, Cosenza served as an architectural designer of large-scale residential and commercial buildings and interiors at Margulies Hoelzli Architecture, PLLC., in New York.
Since 2019, he has taught Interior Design History courses (INT 111, 310, 311, and 494) and co-taught Interior Design Studio courses (INT 261 and 262) at Arizona State University's Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.
Cosenza is also editing his debut novel based on the Manhattan series, which he intends to publish in 2024.
EARLY LIFE & EDUCATION
Sal Cosenza was born in Scottsdale, Arizona, to parents Belle Cosenza and Sal Cosenza, Sr. His older siblings are Carl Cosenza, Chris Cosenza, and Jennifer Gephart. He credits the support of his family as well as his Coronado High School art teacher, Janet Blum, in his decision to embrace the arts at a young age, and received early training from both ASU's Children's Art Workshops and AP painting classes at Scottsdale Community College. His painting instructors from this early period include Bernard Young, John Avedisian, and Danielle Jelks. In a 2019 interview with Campus News, Cosenza cited Michelangelo and Georgia O’Keeffe as influences on his own work. [2]
In 2006, he won a full-ride scholarship to attend Arizona State University, where he earned a Bachelors of Science in Design for Architectural Studies, in 2010. During his time at ASU, he learned and applied architectural concepts from instructors like Max Underwood, Milagros Zingoni, Zubin Shroff, Michael Dobry, Ken McCown, Thomas Morton, Mark Ryan, Renada Hejduk, Scott Murff, Nan Ellin, and Will Heywood.
In 2011, Cosenza had a successful stint as a painting instructor at Scottsdale's Brush Bar, where he learned how to teach painting techniques to large groups of people; often completing new paintings on a nightly basis.
In 2012, Cosenza moved to Harlem, New York City, where he lived and worked for seven years. It was during this time when he earned a Masters of Architecture from The City College of New York, in 2015. At CCNY, Cosenza learned from and worked with instructors like Bradley Horn, Marta Gutman, Sean Weiss, Lee Weintraub, Nandini Bagchee, Michael Meredith, Martin Stigsgaard, Brian Healy, and Elisabetta Terragni.
NOTABLE WORKS
In a 2023 interview with CanvasRebel Magazine, Cosenza describes how, “One of the most rewarding parts of being a painter is to just tell stories with that medium. Each painting I’m lucky enough to create is either a snapshot or some big epic thing – but either way, there’s a composed narrative framework holding it all together. To bring an idea out onto a canvas and then to share it with others is a magical part of the creative journey for me.” [10]
Between 1998 to 2023, he has created an estimated 100-150 original paintings, along with hundreds of multimedia concept drawings, sketches, digital renderings, architectural models and drawings, prints, as well as photographs. Domestic New York is his largest series by volume, with 57 installments produced between 2006 and 2019. It is also his most successful series in terms of sales and distribution, with 52 Domestic New York paintings sold between 2006 and 2019, and print sales reaching an estimated 100-150 units. Meanwhile, the Manhattan series remains Cosenza's longest spanning, as well as his most awarded series.
Manhattan Series (2002-2020)
The Manhattan series consists of five acrylic paintings, with each installment measuring 30" x 40" x 1.5." Each piece was produced in Arizona over the span of eighteen years. Inspired by real-world global events, the series depicts the anthropomorphic buildings of Manhattan under siege by a fictitious organization known as the TERROR Group. Each painting is composed in a Surrealist landscape style with intricate detailing and overt symbolism throughout.
The first installment, Manhattan, was completed in 2002, and chronicles the fall of the Twin Towers as the rest of the city mourns the loss of their architectural friends. The painting took several months to complete, and upon release, was featured as the cover image of Scottsdale Community College's Vortex Creative Writing & Art Contest, and awarded a scholarship prize. It has since been featured in The Arizona Republic and Informality 8: Industrious, a student-run publication at the Spitzer School of Architecture and the City College of New York. [3]
Manhattan: The Rising War followed in 2005, and is much darker and ominous in tone than its predecessor. For this second chapter, Cosenza took note of several real-world events transpiring in the wake of 9/11, including the Iraq war and increased national security in the United States. Taking about a year to complete, the painting is considered a game-changer for Cosenza in terms of technique and approach, since it involved intricate detailing and a large amount of conceptual sketches to meet his vision. Following its release, the painting was exhibited at the West Valley Art Museum, where it won a VASA (Visual Arts Scholastic Award) in 2006. It was voted a "Top Creation" at the 2010 Arcapalooza Design and Arts Festival, and Sal Cosenza was voted "Top Artist" at the same event. It has since been exhibited at Scottsdale's Civic Center Library, Art One Gallery, and Arizona State University, and featured in The Arizona Republic and Informality 8: Industrious. [4]
A third installment, Manhattan: The Wrath Of Terror, was released in 2008. Taking over a year to complete, the painting is the most post-apocalyptic installment in the series, as it depicts buildings being forced to flee their island in search of refuge from the TERROR Group. The sky is inspired by the hellish section of Michelangelo's Last Judgement fresco, while the use of "continuous narrative" allows for the painting to tell four stories at once. Upon completion, the painting was exhibited at Arizona State University, where it was voted a "Top Creation" at the 2010 Arcapalooza Design and Arts Festival, alongside its predecessor, Manhattan: The Rising War. It has since been featured in Informality 8: Industrious. [5]
Manhattan: Emancipation followed in 2011. The fourth installment in the series portrays the tide turning back in the buildings' favor, as the TERROR Group is finally weakened against the city's regained morale. Painting sessions took place over the course of three years at Art One Gallery, Sal's studio in Scottsdale, Arizona, as well as at festivals in Glendale, Arizona to help kickstart the city's downtown arts movement. The painting's completion occurred just days after the killing of Osama bin Laden; an ironic coincidence given the theme of the piece. It was featured in a televised segment on 3TV's Good Morning Arizona in 2011.
A fifth and final installment, Manhattan: The Wonder City, was completed in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown. Aimed for public release in 2024, Cosenza intends to showcase the painting (alongside each of the previous chapters in the series) as part of a multi-venue art exhibition called Manhattan: The Wonder City Tour, The goal of the tour is to raise money for firefighters. Taking seven years to complete, the final installment in the series languished through a period of "development hell" for a variety of reasons, before its ultimate completion during the pandemic. Conceptually, it wraps up the story in triumphant fashion for the buildings of Manhattan, and is meant to serve as a celebratory bookend to the original Manhattan painting from eighteen years prior.
Domestic New York (2006-2019)
The Domestic New York collection (abbreviated to DNY) consists of 55 acrylic and 2 mixed media paintings. Individual sizes vary, with the largest (2008's DNY: A Soaring Affair) measuring 36" x 48" x 1.5" and the smallest (2012's DNY: Around The World, Part I through VII) measuring 8" x 10" x 1.5." Pieces were produced in both Arizona and New York over the span of thirteen years. Most of the paintings in the collection have been on public view, with a majority exhibited at Art One Gallery, Inc. (AZ). Other viewings of originals, reproductions, and screen projected images from the series occurred at Teatro LATEA (NYC), LaGuardia Community College (NYC), Glendale Glitters (AZ), and FBCScottsdale (AZ).
In 2006, Sal Cosenza kicked off the series with DNY: Empire State Checks Out and DNY: Mrs. Chrysler, You're Trying To Seduce Me. Inspired by the works of artist Madelon Vriesendorp, particularly her pieces created for the book, Delirious New York, these early DNY pieces carry an anthropomorphic whimsy that is constant for much of the series.
By 2010, Cosenza released DNY: The Life Cycle, which is the only triptych in the entire series. Upon completion, it was exhibited at Arizona State University, where it was voted a "Top Creation" at the 2010 Arcapalooza Design and Arts Festival. Also released in 2010, A Domestic New York Christmas contains sentimental elements from Cosenza's youth, including various tree ornaments, the Nativity set, and a Sinatra Christmas album. The piece remains a holiday favorite, and has been reproduced as both prints and cards over the years. Most notably, the painting was featured as a screen projected image during the encore of 2018's Schneider Sings Sinatra! concert at Teatro LATEA. Cosenza followed up the painting with another holiday-themed piece in 2011, DNY: A Chance Of Snow.
In 2012, Cosenza released a mini-series within the series entitled DNY: Around The World, Part I through VII, where main protagonists Chrysler and Empire State Buildings visit Cairo, Paris, Scottsdale, Rome, Las Vegas, Japan, and Antarctica, respectively. That same year, DNY: Caught In The Act was created to help support the Arts & Business Council of Greater Phoenix, an organization focused on helping emerging artists.
From 2015 to 2019, Sal Cosenza produced the final eleven Domestic New York paintings while living in New York City. Each measures 20" x 20" x 1.5," and accompanying poems were also specifically written for them. In an interview with LaGuardia Web Radio's Hugo Fernandez to promote his 2019 exhibition, Domestic New York @ LAGCC, Cosenza likened the unified sizes and themes of the pieces to a musical concept album, pointing to, "the idea of each song in the album being tied together, being influenced or informed by the previous to create a cohesive story. So, you really see that in the first ten, to a point where the very first painting (DNY: A Towering Romance) is actually replicated in a small way in the final painting (DNY: Roses Never Lie). The last one (DNY: The Bed Of Roses) can be viewed as a bonus track. It could relate to the previous ten, but it stands on its own." [6]
The Stranger (2008-2021)
The Stranger (stylized as The STRANGER) consists of five acrylic paintings of various dimensions. The work is attributed to the titular character in the noir-themed series, and therefore seen as Sal Cosenza's alter-ego. Topics explored or confronted in the pieces include cancer, racism, greed, and vigilantism, among other socially aware concerns.
Exhibited at Art One Gallery, Inc. (AZ), the series began with 2008's The Stranger Of New York, before continuing in 2020 and 2021 with four sequels.
Out Of The Darkness, Into The Light (2018)
One of Sal Cosenza's largest acrylic works, Out Of The Darkness, Into The Light is a pirate-themed painting on unstretched canvas. Completed in New York after nearly two years of production, the piece was eventually shipped to Arizona and exhibited for Art One Gallery's 25th Anniversary in Scottsdale. Exhibition lasted from November 2018 through January 2019, with all proceeds for prints of the piece sold at the gallery going towards the Arizona-based Autism Academy.
The story centers on themes of exploration by featuring symbols of discovery, suggestions of new beginnings, and elements of danger. It spotlights the journey of three young explorers looking for buried treasure in a vast landscape of sea and rock. The large-scale acrylic piece is painted on unstretched canvas with deliberately torn edges, itself evocative of an old pirate map.
Monuscape Trilogy (2023)
Monuscape is a Surrealist fantasy adventure that combines the allure of Arizona's Papago Park with notions of escape and discovery.
Its follow-up, Monuscape Moon, depicts the story of two prisoners who fall in love despite dangerous circumstances. Set against a lunar surface riddled with the craters of asteroids that can still crash down at any moment, their problems are compounded by the fact that this is a place where romance is an illegal and perishable act. In hot pursuit and lacking any type of obvious escape, the embracing lovers now await their fates together.
The third installment, Monuscape Mystique, is set in the year 3087 and depicts a couples retreat that goes horribly wrong, amid a backdrop of mysterious Monuscapes and an ocean teeming with deadly sharks. Taking many months to create, the painting was inspired by the fascinating terrain of Thailand’s island outcroppings and its aqua-tinted seas.
Upon completion, all three paintings made their debut at Art One Gallery, Inc. (AZ). In addition, the first two entries were selected for inclusion on NBC’s televised 12News AZ “ArtPops” segment, along with related TV promo spots. These segments featured songs by the Arizona-based musicians, The Hourglass Cats and Paper Foxes. [8] [9]
In late 2023, the online magazine Bold Journey published a profile piece about Monuscape Mystique, in which Sal shared insight about the painting’s process and concepts. [11]
Smondays With Sal Podcast Series (2021-Present)
Launched in 2021 on Instagram Live, Smondays With Sal is a monthly series hosted by Sal Cosenza, featuring special guest interviews, discussions on wide-ranging creative topics, and trivia about select Arizona landmarks.
The idea for long-form virtual interviews happened during the COVID-19 lockdown, as a way for Cosenza to discuss meaningful and upcoming creative topics in a casual and relaxed format. Guests hail from a variety of creative backgrounds, including portrait artists, landscape designers, art curators, sculptors, muralists, architects, comic book artists, and social activists based out of Arizona and New York. Notable guests include Eduardo Santamaria, Jordan Zurn, Bob Martin, Joan Waters, Audrey Galat, Lucretia Torva, Nicholas Friedmann, Yolanda Lawrence, N_Mori, and Victor J. Irizarry.
In a 2021 interview with Shoutout Arizona, Cosenza credits his "enjoyment in meeting new people and learning their story" as a catalyst for this series, citing that "the more open-minded you are to things, the better." [7]
RECOGNITION & HONORS
8TH ANNUAL GRADUATE STUDENT SYMPOSIUM
Voted First Prize in Architecture for semester-long Inwood Cave Boathouse Project | Spring 2015
SPITZER HISTORY NOTEBOOK AWARD
Voted First Place for Architectural Sketchbook Competition | Spring 2014
ARCAPALOOZA DESIGN AND ARTS FESTIVAL
Voted "Top Artist" and "Top Creations" for Manhattan: The Rising War, Manhattan: The Wrath of Terror, and Domestic New York: The Life Cycle | Spring 2010
WEST VALLEY ART MUSEUM
VASA (Visual Arts Scholastic Award) Recipient for Manhattan : The Rising War | Summer 2006
VORTEX CREATIVE WRITING & ART CONTEST
Cover Art & Scholarship Honoree for Manhattan | Summer 2002
EXHIBITIONS
Solo Exhibitions
WINFIELDS CAFE/FBCSCOTTSDALE - AZ
Domestic New York Archival Prints | July 2020 - December 2020
LAGUARDIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE - NYC
Domestic New York Paintings, Drawings, & Poetry | June 2019 - August 2019
Group Exhibitions
ART ONE GALLERY, INC. - AZ
Various Paintings & Architectural Drawings | May 2005 – January 2015; November 2018 - Present
“PUP!ART 2.0” SILENT AUCTION - AZ***
Towering Pongo Painting | November 2022 *** Sponsored by The Art One Foundation & Two Pups Wellness Fund
“PUP!ART” SILENT AUCTION - AZ**
Towering Husky Painting | November 2021 ** Sponsored by The Art One Foundation & Two Pups Wellness Fund
WHITE SPACE CHELSEA - NYC*
So Long, Peter B. Kaplan Mixed-Media Drawing | June 2019 * Sponsored by The Square Fair: A Benefit for Artworks, The Naomi Cohain Foundation
TEATRO LATEA - NYC
Ralph Schneider Sings Sinatra! Concert Event | Screen-Projected Domestic New York Images | December 2018
TEATRO LATEA - NYC
Domestic New York Paintings & Poetry | November 2018 – January 2019
FIRST STREET GREEN ART PARK - NYC
The Living Section Pavilion Architectural Models & Drawings | April 2013
EDUCATION
CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK
Masters of Architecture | August 2012 - May 2015
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bachelors of Science in Design - Architectural Studies | August 2006 - May 2010
REFERENCES
1. Wallace, Anthony (March 1, 2019). "Art One, Sal Cosenza raise funds for Autism Academy". Arcadia News. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
2. Coello, Yesenia (May 22, 2019). "Artist’s works are larger than life". Campus News. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
3. Informality 8: Industrious, 10 October 2016, p. 29.
4. Informality 8: Industrious, 10 October 2016, p. 30.
5. Informality 8: Industrious, 10 October 2016, p. 31.
6. "Hugo's It's On With Sal Cosenza." LaGuardia Web Radio. 30 Jul. 2019, Long Island City, NY.
7. Shoutout Arizona (December 13, 2021). "Meet Sal Cosenza | Artist & Design Educator". Shoutout Arizona. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
8. 12news.com (April 10, 2023). “[NBC] 12 NEWS AZ ARTPOPS, Feat. "MONUSCAPE" by Sal Cosenza & "COMFORT ZONE" by The Hourglass Cats”. 12news.com. Retreived 02 June 2023.
9. 12news.com (May 01, 2023). “ArtPops: Sal Cosenza and Paper Foxes”. 12news.com. Retrieved 02 June 2023.
10. CanvasRebel Magazine (September 04, 2023). "Meet Sal Cosenza | Stories & Insights". CanvasRebel Magazine. Retrieved 08 September 2023.
11. Bold Journey (December 28, 2023). “Meet Sal Cosenza”. Bold Journey. Retrieved 07 January 2024.
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“BIO + CV” Compilation © 2022-24 Unum Studio LLC. Photo by J5MEDIA | John Ariete