Antoinette (Annie) Legnini

Artist Statement:

Assemblage asks you to deeply see.  Ordinary objects—like bottle caps and MetroCards—suddenly become studio materials. I cut and paste these objects, collaging them alongside mediums like paint and pencil on paper.  Through this unification, I create portraits of people and places I call home.  I see everyday objects as “connective tissue”: mundane and glossed over, but interwoven into our daily rituals.  In my work, their transformation and recognizability spark attention, reconsidering what (and who) in everyday life is overlooked.  This is a practice of attention, interdependence, and sustainability, centering the collective home that has shaped me (and shapes us).

Short bio:

Antoinette “Annie" Legnini (b. 1994, The Bronx) is a painter and draftsperson working with mixed media, collage, assemblage, and installation. She received a B.A. from Fordham University in Visual Arts and Women’s Studies in 2016 and an M.F.A. in Painting at the New York Academy of Art in 2022. Legnini has participated in residencies at the Washington Square Park Conservancy, the BX Arts Factory, Otis College of Art and Design, and Con Artist Collective. She was the recipient of the 2022-2023 Chubb Fellowship at the New York Academy of Art. Legnini is best known for her ongoing collaborative community art project called “Bronx Faces” - a series that pairs the stories and experiences of Bronxites with a mixed media portrait. She is currently teaching at the Fashion Institute of Technology and has also taught at the New York Academy of Art, the Hudson River Museum, and Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education.