Buffalo Rising Online

Jul 15th 2006, 9:56am By andalu13

I was intrigued when I saw some media coverage of the Guitars for Hope campaign that is aimed to benefit: Hunters Hope, Kelly for Kids, and WNED. I cruise to work the next day & discover that some of the guitars are being displayed in our atrium (no such thing as coincidence). I think to myself- time for a much over-do BR article; what a fun way to learn more about this public art project and at the same time meet a contributing artist. One of the guitars immediately caught my attention so I contacted the creator and set up an interview. When I sat down with Tony Mauro Sr. I was all set to cover the public project, the genesis of his creation and some of his other Buffalo endeavors. What morphed instead is pretty special.

Guitars for Hope transformed sixty six-foot fiberglass acoustic guitar molds into magnificent works of art by area artists and national celebrities. I asked Tony Sr. to give me a quasi artist-statement with respect to his painted guitar. When he told me, My guitar painting is really the story of two artists, myself and my son Sammy (his son is depicted playing an acoustic guitar) something clicked in my foggy-noggin & I thought to myself- how cool would it be to write a story about the 2 Mauros and their ties to Buffalo art [one in painting & one in music]. When I mentioned this idea to Tony, he was all for it- and added that there was another Mauro that could be included as well Tony Jr.- an accomplished illustrator and designer who recently moved back to Buffalo from Los Angeles. Tony Mauro Sr. has had his unique work displayed in various venues in and around the city [and country for that matter] including: Jimmy Macs, The Mansion Hotel, Toro, The Vue, La Scala, The Vern Stern Gallery (and galleries throughout the country). Among his many accolades is his recent 2nd place finish at last years Allentown Art Festival. Check out tonymaurofineart.com- there is a good chance you will recognize Tonys unique look/style to his paintings. Nominated for best solo artist by Artvoice, Sammy Mauro is hyper-busy with private gigs [weddings, private parties, corporate and holiday events] but also plays his share of bars and clubs JT Wheatfields, Crawdaddies/Shanghai Reds, House of Quinn, Chesters, Sunset Bay, Surfers et cetera. Tony Sr. told me that he really digs Sammys enthusiasm and ability to entertain. Being Italian myself, and seeing Sammy play in the past, I can attest to his passion. His gigs are fun-filled, audience participation events! Sammy can be reached @ 228-3633. Tony Jr., illustrator/designer, has spent the last 6 yrs working in the entertainment industry designing movie posters. Recent work includes: Pirates of the Caribbean (one of my all-time fav movies), The Pink Panther, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Friday Night Lights. He also has a fantasy/pin-up art book titled The Dark art of Tony Mauro. He is currently finishing up a 2007 wall calendar that includes a collection of fantasy pin-up art. I checked out his website, darkdayproductions.com, and am really impressed and into this kind of art. I think its pretty cool that such a talent calls Buffalo- home. I really think Buffalo, ranked as one of the countrys leading arts destinations, is fortunate to have the presence of the Mauro clan. Even Tony Sr.s daughter Ann Marie, who cant wait to move back to Buffalo this summer, designs and makes her own Jewelry. Are you ready for some sarcasm? I think it really sucks that the Mauros are so talented and I cant paint, sing, illustrate, finger-paint, hum, doodle, to save my life!