about toni ross
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
From Little Gidding V, T. S. Eliot
Toni Ross was born and raised in New York City. She attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT where she studied ceramics and graduated with a BA in film studies. Having been interested in making art from a young age, Toni's life has taken many paths from film work to drawing and painting, to pastry chef and restaurateur. In 1997, Toni made a decision to commit herself to her artwork immersing herself in the world of clay. Her return to creating began with ceramics where her interest quickly moved into the realm of pure sculpture. Though often infused vessel vernacular, Ms. Ross's work has little to do with practical function but rather to explore the nature of containment: containers of time, emotions, experience and collective memory. There is a search for identity as well as a desire to capture the beauty of line and form, to explore the space in between and the ever intriguing question of what lies within.
Having moved to the eastern end of Long Island in 1988, Toni's work is influenced by the light and landscape of the surrounding fields and oceans as well as by Japanese and greek aesthetics.
Toni lives and works in Wainscott, NY with her children Noah and Sara and their dog, Gracie.
resume
1957 - Born New York City
1980 - BA, Wesleyan University
1983-84 - Mentoring with Elaine de Kooning, East Hampton, NY
1985-86 - Work/Study, Carrara, Italy
1986-88 - Assistant Pastry Chef, Jams Restaurant, NY, NY
1988 - Open Nick & Toni's Restaurant, East Hampton, NY
1993 - Co-founded Hamptons International Film Festival, East Hampton, NY
1996 - Co-founded The Hayground School, Bridgehampton, NY
1996 - Open Rowdy Hall Pub and Bistro, East Hampton, NY
1997 - Open Nick & Toni's Café, NY, NY
1997 – First Solo Exhibition
2001 - Open La Fondita Taqueria, Amagansett, NY
2007 - Open Townline Barbeque, Sagaponack, NY