Born in Saginaw, Michigan, Anthony Lilly is an 18 year resident of NYC. During the course of his career he has worked in many settings including, theatre, magazine, motion picture, fashion and music. The inspiration gained by traversing these many fields can be seen in Lilly’s work not only by its subject matter, but also by the media in which he chooses to work.

When studying the intricacies of these fabric collages it is important to note the attention to detail displayed by the artist. The artist worked painstakingly to select fabrics and details that would truly express and maintain the integrity of his message. Each of the different fabrics and accents are independently attached and hand-stitched by the artist to the background.

Simply stated, Anthony Lilly’s work explores morality in its extremes. The most basic concepts of right and wrong, virtue and vice are flaunted in vivid Technicolor so the observer pays attention. To view Lilly’s work as a whole you can see the evolution of a theme. “You ARE the Holy Spirit” is representational of moral clarity; ones spiritual quest and aspiration to exalt the soul. It’s speaks to our need to be virtuous and respectable. Step into the world of “You Win Some, You Lose Some”, and the soul slips into a sordid encounter with vice experiencing all its temptations, shadowy characters and obvious dangers. “WAR” is the culmination of these opposing poles clashing and struggling for supremacy within each of us; the wanting to live a moral and virtuous life battling against the want to thrill in the excitement of what is deemed by society as sin. It is the ultimate battle between Freud’s Super-ego and Id that Anthony Lilly so beautifully recreates with is art.