Michael Ciliberti

Artist’s Reception
Main Gallery

Ciliberti is a Philadelphia artist working in oil and watercolor. He is exhibiting his recent works which were inspired by visits to the Morris Arboretum, the Wissahickon Woods, and Pastorius Park in Chestnut Hill.  His watercolors were worked al fresco during visits to Monhegan Island, Maine.

Ciliberti studied at Fleischer Art Memorial and later at the Barnes Foundation, followed by five years at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.  His studies were augmented by numerous trips to Italy and visits to many of the great museums of European cities.

He first started exhibiting in the 1950s when he joined Group 55 who showed in Philadelphia, New York and Chicago. (Group 55 is the subject of an upcoming 2020 exhibit planned by Woodmere Art Museum.)

Abstraction gave way to nature studies culminating in his first solo show at the Philadelphia Art Alliance.  Ciliberti eventually drifted away from abstraction altogether drawn to the beauty of the natural landscapes. His works are included in many private and public collections.

I discovered in nature the non-utilitarian delights that I sought in art. Both were a form of magic, both were a game of intricate enchantment and deception.  – Vladimir Nabokov, Speak, Memory