Mario Busoni was born in Berlin, Germany, at the beginning of World War II. His family emigrated to the United States in 1939, and he grew up in New York City. His father, Rafaello Busoni, was a children’s book illustrator. Mario’s early interest in and encyclopedic knowledge of sailing ships led him to undertake the construction of shipbuilders’ half models, some of which were displayed on the walls of Sandolino’s, a well-known café on Barrow Street in Greenwich Village, in the 1960s.

He supported himself by working as a sandal maker at Allan Block’s Sandal Shop on West Fourth Street, where folk musicians famously gathered on Friday nights to share their music. At this time, Mario also became interested in constructing musical instruments, and he subsequently built several violins and a lute.

His appreciation and understanding of three-dimensional form and the relationship of outer shape to inner content led to his interest in sculpting in clay and wax. His first bronze figurative sculpture was displayed in the Annual Exhibit at the National Academy of Design in 1988.

Mario’s respect for craftsmanship and standards of excellence extends from the precision of his earlier work making musical instruments and half-models to the freer, but equally demanding, sculptural concerns reflected in his current work. His depictions of the female figure are not intended to be exact representations, but rather are abstracted to create a sensuous equivalent of the figure, an eloquent presence, evoking the long tradition of the female form in sculpture.

Some of the works are more expressionistic than others, but all share the quality of emotional compression and a humanistic perspective. In terracotta, wood, and bronze, the pieces reflect a vision that is independent of the current trends and fashions in the art world.

His work has been exhibited at the National Academy of Design, the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, the 20/20 Gallery, the Hudson Guild, and the M55/Noho Gallery, all in New York City, and is also in private collections.