Ken Scaglia primary interest in creating my paintings is the compositional opportunities they present to me. Pre-1970 automotive classics present a source of line and shape and movement that excite my design sensibilities of scale, cropping, and tension in space. I focus on automobiles and motorcycles because of my nostalgia for them and the honesty and integrity of the materials. Glass, chrome, paint, rubber and metal are all the elements that grab my interest to representat in paint. This is not to say that I can completely disregard my upbringing and my fond remembrances of classic Fords, Chevys, and Plymouths. I have had the privilege of commissions of many Ferraris, Jaguars, and Aston Martins as well. My work connects with viewers as nostalgia or reviving sentimental cues in each one’s experience. My own association with the past is an effort to represent cars in a traditional, paint on canvas creation.
Raised in Indiana, Ken made his way to the east coast after a stop in Columbus, Ohio working at architectural and interior design firms. After completing an MFA in graphic design at Yale, he began a freelance career in 1990 designing for publications and fine art books. Packaging, corporate identity, and poster design were included in his design services. A brief stint as a muralist and decorative painter led to a reentry into teaching in 2008. Teaching design at Norwalk Community College, the University of Bridgeport, and Western Connecticut State University have provided him with the credentials to now teach full time at WCSU. Concurrent to academia, he has developed a career as a gallery artist in the genre of photorealism. Ken is represented by CODA Gallery in Palm Desert, CA.