We are thrilled to announce that Donato Giancola will be our Artist Guest of Honor at the New York Tolkien Conference. Among his many accolades, Mr. Giancola is the winner of three Artist Hugo awards, twenty-three Chesley Awards from the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists, The World Fantasy Award, and numerous other honors.
He will be giving a visual presentation/lecture entitled “Visions of Middle-earth,” looking at the pluralistic voices in visual illustration which have contributed to interpreting Tolkien’s worlds through the decades – from Tolkien’s own hand to the underground works of the 70’s, into the triad of Lee, Howe and Nasmith of the 80’s and onto a new generation of artists now.
I’ve long admired Mr. Giancola’s work, and am so pleased that he’ll be at the conference. His detailed biography is below.
Remember, if you want to attend, please register at the conference site.
Biography
January 2024
From J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings to Gericault’s Raft of the Medusa, Donato
balances modern concepts with historical associations to bridge the worlds of
contemporary and historical figurative arts. Influences encompass strolls down New York
City streets and pilgrimages to museums and art institutions around the world. Donato
recognizes the significant cultural role played by visual art and makes personal efforts to
contribute to the expansion and appreciation of the narrative genre that extend beyond the
commissions of his clients.
Donato shares his passion of figurative arts not only through his unique body of oil
paintings and drawings, but also by engaging future generations of creators through
teaching at the Illustration Master Class, mentoring online through the SmArt School, and
lecturing and exhibiting at various universities, institutions, seminars, and conventions
worldwide.
Since beginning his professional career in 1993, Donato’s list of clients has grown to
include major book publishers in New York to concept design firms on the West Coast:
notables include The United Nations, LucasArts, National Geographic, Scientific American,
CNN, DC Comics, Microsoft, The Village Voice, Playboy Magazine, US Postal Service,
Wizards of the Coast , Scholastic, Simon&Schuster, Tor Books, Random House, Time/
Warner, The Scifi Channel, Milton-Bradley, and Hasbro.
As a heavily respected and awarded painter Donato’s merits range from the Hamilton King
Award from the Society of Illustrators to twenty-three Chesley Awards from the Association
of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists, three Artist Hugo Awards for outstanding
professional work from the World Science Fiction Society, notable awards from the Art
Renewal Center, and six silver and two gold medals from the juried annual Spectrum: The
Best of Contemporary Fantastic Art.
Donato is currently engaged with series works on the themes of Empathetic Robots,
astronauts, commercial book commissions, and continued explorations within J.R.R.
Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
Donato lives with his wife and two daughters in Brooklyn, New York.
New York Tolkien Conference 
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