About the Artist

Raised on the Lower East side of Manhattan, John Costanza was born to immigrant parents from Sicily. Costanza credits his successful lifelong career as an artist to his teacher and mentor, Eddie Glannon, at the Gramercy Boys' Club in New York City. Glannon taught Costanza to create and love art, inspiring him to pursue his passion, regardless of obstacles.

Costanza pursued his interest in art through high school and upon graduation in 1943, he served in the South Pacific in the US Navy as a code taker. Costanza took advantage of the GI Bill and continued his studies at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture of Temple University in Philadelphia. Post graduation, he was a full professor of art and served as the head of the ceramics department at Philadelphia's Moore College of Art and Design.

In addition to being exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and on The University of Pennsylvania campus, Costanza has also been featured at Museums of Art in Wilmington, Detroit, and Harrisburg. He was also featured at the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair and was selected for a Smithsonian Institution Travelling Exhibition. Costanza has repeatedly been commissioned for public and private works, including but not limited to the New York Historical Society and the Museum of the City of New York, Philadelphia's Schubert Theatre and People's Light and Theatre, Ampacet and Paragon Corporations, and Harcourt Brace Javonovitch publishers. He was honored to create work for the private collections of Vice President Walter Mondale, Pear S. Buck, and Jackie Robinson.

Costanza continues to work, create, and teach out of his studio in Bryn Mawr, PA.

Education:

High School of Art and Design, New York.

Art Students League, New York.
BFA - Temple University/Tyler School of Art.
MA in Education - Cheyney/University of Pennsylvania.

Teaching:

Professor: Moore College of Art, Phila, PA.; Chairman, Ceramics Department.

Exhibitions: Over 50 one-person shows/40 two-person shows (Partial listing)
Forley & Wren Gallery, NYC
Museum of Contemporary Crafts, NYC
Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition (4 years)
Philadelphia Civic Center Museum (invited, 5 years)
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Invitational
Philadelphia Museum of Art, American Crafts
Everson Museum: Art National Exhibition (4 years)
New York World's Fair
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
Delaware Museum of Art
Detroit Museum of Art
Columbus Museum of Art
Harrisburg Memorial Museum of Art
University of Pennsylvania: “Confronting Cancer Through Art”

Public/Corporate Commissions: (Partial Listing)
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA.
University of Delaware, Wilmington, PA.
Harcum Junior College, Bryn Mawr, PA.
Wilmington Society of Fine Arts
Station KISN, Portland, OR.
Monsanto Corporation
Modern Community Developers.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA.
Museum of the City of New York
New York Historical Society
New York Public Library (Main Branch, Fifth Ave)

Corporate Commissions: (Partial Listing)
University City High School, Philadelphia Board of Education
Shubert Theatre, Philadelphia, PA.
Ampacet Corporation, Mount Vernon, NY.
Paragon Corporation, West Orange, NJ.
Harcourt, Brace, & Jovanovich, OH.
People Light & Theater, PA.
Cumberland County College, Vineland, NJ
Mary McFadden, Fashion Designer (NY) -- Ceramic Jewelry

Private Collections: (Partial Listing)

Mel Richman · Ray Posel · Morton Weiss · Walter Mondale (VP) · Senator Richard Schweiker · Averill Harriman · Edna Ferber · Pearl Buck · Jackie Robinson · Kivie Kaplan · Peter Moore · Dr. Donald Wexlin · Joseph Judge. Conductor, Ricardo Muti

Publications/Books: Featured in: Pageant Magazine: “Artist of the Year” · Studio Potter Magazine · Clay Works (by L. Nigrosh) · Exploring Visual Arts (by Burton Wasserman) · Vogue Magazine. ver 50