Jyl Bonaguro is a self taught sculptor and playwright, specializing in carving Italian marble by hand. Often working spontaneously, Jyl has a modern approach to the ancient art of stone carving that diverges from the formal academic approach. Raw stone is revealed in select areas, leaving sections untouched and natural, reminiscent of fragments excavated by archaeologists.
She finds similarities working in mediums as divergent as sculpting and playwriting because both mediums are treated as interactive, narrative forms. Sculptures like her marble wings series tells a story through composition of form and style in much the same way a play tells a story through composition of words and style. Both forms require audience participation and interaction to help complete the stories and connect us with each other.
Jyl Bonaguro’s works have been featured in many publications and are in private art collections throughout the United States. She lives and works in Chicago, IL. To honor and celebrate women throughout the world, she is creating a sculpture that captures the strength, wisdom, and beauty of the female figure in the same imposing scope and
scale as Michelangelo’s David. Modern Athena monument is fierce, realistic, multi-racial and carved from a single block of marble. Currently, she is carving the 48 inch / 122 cm version of the Modern Athena, which is featured in Phìlo-Poèm.