Anita Sto (b. 1981) is a self-taught Multimedia Visual Artist. Originally from Rome (Italy), she studied Architecture and received the BFA in Illustration. Few years later, in the early 2000s she moved to Brooklyn NY, where currently lives and works.

CURRICULUM VITAE

A text from Joanne Howard

Many aspects of “self” are examined, in a variety of media, in Anita Sto’s work. Whether in video, works on paper or with text, Sto’s work pays attention to the unrelenting tension between internal and external forces.

In her video work, Sto relies on her own reflection as the portal into themes of identity, loneliness and the unrelenting reality of our shared solitary status. In “Black Box of Consciousness”, Sto confronts a mirror and waits for an emotional outburst that reduces her to tears. Because the loop begins with a face in repose, the arc from serene to sobbing is extreme, giving way to reactions that range from thrillingly voyeuristic, to tragic and empathetic, to strangely (and perhaps inappropriately) comedic.

In her year long performance “One Year Living Without Mirror” Sto was able to reinforce her commitment to her internal life and sense of isolation. She deprived herself of the ordinary rituals of grooming and perhaps more importantly, the simple visual reminder of existence as confirmed by seeing ones’ reflection. This year long performance provided her with a self-imposed marginalization and further underscored her sense of aloneness.

The “process” dimension in Sto’s performance pieces is also evident in her works on paper. Daily rituals are again utilized and practiced in the form of mark making. She uses one ballpoint pen until its depletion in one series, and a manual typewriter as a conduit for rhythm and pattern through word repetition.

Embracing the mechanical regularity of the typewriter becomes a form of momentum or inertia. This mechanical rhythm is also examined in a series of drawings made on a vintage player piano roll, where images respond to patterns that both suggest and replace the paper’s original intention, a piece of music.

Sto’s quest for meaning through the practice of daily rituals asserts that the answers are at arms reach, and found in the ordinary. The discipline and routine inherent in ritual includes a sense of both work and play. There is evidence of this duality present in the work, where levity and seriousness find equilibrium.