Award-winning satirist artist Tony "Baloney" Juliano is not your normal painter. With his wacky, single-panel, lush, comic-like paintings dealing with quick puns, whimsical sayings, ironic sadness, and his penchant for parodying other famous artists, Tony makes art laughable in colorful cartoon canvas as well as other forms of media.
Tony was born on February 7, 1975. He graduated from Paier College of Art with a BFA in Illustration in 1998 and is a successful free-lance artist from 1997 to the present.
He has created commissioned murals for Corona Beer, the New Haven Jazz Festival and Yale University’s Peabody Museum of Natural History. In addition, his portfolio includes comic books, illustrations, logos, theatrical backdrops and set designs, tattoo designs, film, photography, and art lessons. He currently teaches at MACH (The Music and Arts Center for Humanity). A non-profit community school of the arts in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Being teased and picked on by his classmates, he developed a childish made-up nickname. He was called Agoo. That name hounded him for years, so turning lemons into lemonade (and maybe out of spite) it seemed fitting that he calls his work "AGOO ART"
Tony’s artwork has been exhibited in both the United States and England. The list includes (amongst others); The Walker Museum - Liverpool; Limner Gallery - New York City; John Slade Ely House - Connecticut; La Viande - London; The Art Coalition - Hollywood; CB’s 313 Gallery - New York City; The Red Door Gallery - San Francisco; Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art - New York City; Hygienic Art Gallery - Connecticut; Europa Gallery - Brooklyn; Creative Arts Workshop - Connecticut; l'art Noir New Orleans - New Orleans; DeCordova Museum - Massachusetts.
Photo by Rich House
Tony is also the producer and director of Forgot to Laugh: Sideshow and Animation Festival. A mix of live vaudeville acts such as fire spinners, contortionists, world-ranked yo-yo performers, magicians and many other kinds of performances. Also between each act are animated shorts from Bill Plympton, Spike & Mike, Happy Tree Friends, Aardman Animations and many, many others.
The receptions at Tony's art exhibits are not your typical art openings. He has a following of fans that have come dressed as chickens, purple cows, dragons and robots. He also delivers live entertainment, which has included accordion players, local bands and Tony’s own unique comic acts. Lastly, he utilizes unusual methods of delivering refreshments, from drinks served by The Connecticut Roller Derby Girls on their skates, to a butler serving Twinkies on a silver platter.
Tony’s work has received official recognition not only within the arts community but also from business and governmental institutions. In 2004, he received the Rising Stars Award from Business New Haven; in 2009, he received an Official Citation from the Connecticut General Assembly, and in both 2008 and 2009, he received two separate grants from the New Haven Mayor's Community Arts Grants Program for the production and direction of Tony’s Forgot to Laugh: Sideshow and Animation Festival.
Some of the publications that have featured Tony are Direct Art, Juxtapoz, ISM quarterly, Art Buzz, The Book of SPAM and newspapers and magazines ranging from New York Arts to New Haven Magazine.
Some of Tony's influences are Gary Larson, Berkeley Breathed, Mark Ryden, Shag, Frank Miller, John Byrne, and Charles Bragg.
Tony currently lives in New Haven, Connecticut at The Agoo Art Factory with his beloved pet, Commander Hamster and he is definitely, one happy camper!
Portarit of Tony Juliano by Joseph Funaro
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