Joe Chirchirillo has been creating sculpture since the early 1970’s. After attending college in New York and Arizona, he moved to the New York Metro area and settled in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1979. He was part of the first wave of artists moving to this outpost across the Hudson from NYC, building the budding art scene there. In the early 1980's he was involved with artists from lower Manhattan and Brooklyn who were putting on large shows in abandoned buildings and blighted urban lots.

 

These artist-run shows, such as the “Monument Redefined” and the “Terminal Show”, were huge public events. The Terminal Show took place in the abandoned Bush Terminal, made famous as a major shipping center for material in both WWI and WWII. In true gorilla art form, “Monument Redefined” was organized in a lot in Red Hook on the Brooklyn waterfront.  Both received tremendous attention from viewers and critics alike.  At this time Mr. Chirchirillo’s work was reviewed in Art Forum, Art in America, Vanity Fair and on numerous occasions in the New York Times. He received a national endowment grant based on the work from this time.

 

He moved to Vermont 20 years ago. Since then, he has focused on creating outdoor sculpture. He likes the accessibility of outdoor  sculpture and the idea that people can easily view the work, rather than going to a museum or gallery, which many never do.​

 

Currently he is working on a large commission for the Bennington Museum. His outdoor work has been sited in many locations on the east coast ,the Midwest as well as a large piece he created in Taiwan.Joe has been the curator of (NBOSS) – “The North Bennington Outdoor Sculpture Show” for the last 13 years. During this time the show has grown in size and popularity, bringing thousands of viewers to North Bennington each year.