John Grillo

(1915-2016)

Grillo’s abstraction began in the South Seas during WWII and his drawings from the war awarded him the opportunity to be the only student with his own studio at the California School of Fine Arts. Grillo moved to New York and was selected by Hans Hoffman for “New Talent Show” in 1951 and known as one of Hoffman’s best students. According to Susan Landauer, Grillo later influenced Hoffman by his use of squares and abstraction.