Italian and American
b. June 6, 1932, Lago, Calabria, Italy —
d. July 7, 2001, San Diego, California
Lived and worked in San Diego, California

Italo Scanga was an innovative neo-Dadaist, neo-Expressionist and neo-Cubist multimedia artist who made sculptures of ordinary objects and created prints, glass and ceramic works.

Scanga's materials included natural objects like branches and seashells, as well as kitsch figurines, castoff musical instruments and decorative trinkets salvaged from flea markets and thrift shops. He combined these ingredients into free-standing assemblages, which he then painted. He considered his artistic influences to be sweepingly pan-cultural, from African sculpture to Giorgio de Chirico. He often collaborated with the famed glass sculptor Dale Chihuly, who was a close friend.

Italo Scanga exhibited internationally. His artworks can be found in art museum collections across the entire United States.