The artworks to be displayed have been drawn from the entries of 705 Artists from Celeste.Prize, and its Italian arm, Premio.Celeste.

Now the commission of judges comprising Mark Gisbourne, Adrienne Goehler, Victoria Lu, has whittled this number down to those 10 which will form part of the ‘dependtendency’ Venice 2009 exhibition.

Four of the 10 winners are Italian.

Another 10 artists works have also be selected to be featured in a special ‘dependtendency‘ exhibition catalogue.

The artists whose work will be displayed on the Isola della Certosa are:

1. Erdogan Bulut,
2. Massimo Cristaldi,
3. Claudia Gambadoro,
4. Giuseppe Gonella,
5. Hektor Mamet,
6. Seung Hee Kang,
7. Peter Monkman,
8. Sara Rossi,
9. Ira Schneider,
10. Yea Jin Song

Of the above ten winners, four are Italian artists – Massimo Cristaldi, Claudia Gambadoro, Giuseppe Gonella, and Sara Rossi.

Details and notes, plus links to the works by the Italian artists, follow.

Claudia Gambadoro

This is Catania artist Claudia Gambadoro’s winning entry:

Notes on artwork: Drawing as a form of conquest…
A childhood game or the building of a whole reality.
Balance/order soon becomes chaos.
Every sign leaves a trace,
Accumulation, the sum total, excess impending,
The environment is saturated by deafening noise
That doesn’t leave room for a new reality.

BOX from claugam on Vimeo.

Massimo Cristaldi

Catania photogragher Massimo Cristaldi’s winning entry:

Notes on artwork:
Ground Zero. A thought on the consequences of a terrorist act that made all of us more aware of the interconnections between East and West of the World.

Giuseppe Gonella

Venetian artist Giuseppe Gonella’s winning entry – Installation, Fantasy / Visionary.  To see the artwork, please click on the link below.

Notes on artwork: Yesterday with tomorrow, there are around 1600 drawings.

A cube of variable dimensions filled with signs.  A cube of infinite traces designed to comprehend and follow an account comprising of memories, forms, and objects.  These traces are formed from everyday waste, from the uncertainly of memory and of the individual.  Traces which are drawings employing various techniques, with waste used as fragments that once combined create a story, a diary, a poetic reminder which I hope, as far as is possible, gives the viewer a dimension of intimacy which may for part of the essence of anyone.

Translated by me, Alex Roe, because there was no translation on the English Celeste.Prize site.

Sara Rossi

Perugia artist Sara Rossi’s winning entry.

Notes on artwork: Serie M 01
Walking around in streets of New York in 2006, I started taking pictures.
This was the beginning of “Meeting People”, a journey of encounters between the faces hidden behind the doorbells and those observing them.

The heart of the project is created by collage creations and acrylic painting on canvas on which the pictures are printed.
The wide black surfaces are loaded with strength, also thanks to the collage creations which give thickness to the subject.
The silver assumes the symbolic character representing the composition’s fulcrum.

The Other Winning Entries

The other winning entries can be seen here:  ‘dependtendency‘ Venice 2009

Works Featured in the dependtendency Catalogue

To see the works which will be featured in the event catalogue:  Works in Catalogue

Remember that the ‘dependtendency’ exhibition is to be held on Venice’s Island of Certosa from the 4th to the 7th, June 2009.

The Italian version, Premio.Celeste, boasts over 13,000 members, nearly 9,000 of whom are artists.  However, do not think only of painting when using the word ‘artist’, for Premio.Celeste features a whole range of different art genres, such as photography and graphic design, sculptor and installations, video and animation, and, of course, pictures.  The diversity is huge, and there is much to see.

As the name implies, artists can win cash prizes for their work, and this must help up their profiles both within, and outside of Italy.  An excellent idea.

Free Membership

Premio.Celeste

Membership of Premio.Celeste is free, and is not limited to artists alone, there are journalists, which is what I’m calling myself, seeing as I am starting to do some freelance journalism work, and blogging is not too far from journalism, when all is said and done.  Since joining, I’ve acquired 12 14 22 30+ friends, which is wonderful.  As you might imagine, many of these friends are artists.

Another nice aspect of the site is that the artists can post details of events featuring their work, however, many of the Italian artists only post details in Italian, which is a shame, as those visiting Italy might like to see the work of their preferred artist in the flesh, so to speak.  This is something I’m looking into changing, as I think it might be interesting for event details to be in English too.  If I get anywhere in this little quest, I’ll report here.

Friends

My profile is here: Italyisin, and if you do happen to have a spare few minutes, I suggest viewing some of the very interesting work by my Premio.Celeste friends, many of who are Celeste Prize winners.  These friends are, so far:

1. Alberto Mileti
2. Giuseppe Galli
3. Mauro Lacqua
4. Isovni Contemporary Visions
5. Marco Bellomi – Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘09. Category: Painting
6. Antonio De Luca – Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘09. Category: Photo & Digital Graphics
7. Steven Smith – International Friend
8. Leonardo Lenzi – Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘09. Category: Photo & Digital Graphics
9. Gaetano Fiore
10. Barbara Karwowska -  Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘07. Category: Painting
11. Gabriela Bodin
12. Maria Chiffi
13. Luciano Civettini
14. Jordi Fornies – International Friend – Winner Celeste Prize ‘09. Category: Painting
15. Juanita Capogna – Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘09. Category: Painting
16. Cinzia Tomassini
17. Exhibitionow – Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘08. Category: Photo & Digital Graphics.  Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘08. Category: Video, Installation & Sculpture
18. Rossano Liberatore – Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘09. Category: Painting
19. Vincenzo Baldini
20. Claudia Ibanez
21. Gabriella Ferlito – Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘09. Category: Painting
22. K-soul – Cosmic Garden Holokinetics Laboratory.  Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘09. Category: Video, Installation & Sculpture. Winner:  Celeste Prize 2009. Category: Video & Animation
23. Ilaria Messaggio
24. La Tavolozza – Centre for Art and Culture
25. Michele Lombardo – Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘09. Category: Photo & Digital Graphics. Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘08. Category: Video, Installation & Sculpture.
26. Daniele Gori -  Winner Celeste Prize International ‘09. Category: Painting
27. Adria – Winner Celeste Prize International ‘09. Category: Painting
28. Rinaldo Cirillo – Winner Celeste Prize ‘09. Category: Painting
29. Carapostol -
30. Paolo Dogà – Art Critic and Curator
31. Carlotta Castelletti

I thoroughly recommend art lovers take a look at the site.  Remember my Celeste Prize profile, where you will find the people listed above is here: Italyisin, so please spend a few minutes looking at the work of the artists listed.  If you like what you see, spread the word about the artist, Celeste Prize site and Italyisin.

A nice touch is the RSS feed for each artists’ ‘Gallery’ – look for ‘Opere‘ in Italian or ‘Artworks‘ in English.  Just click on the RSS symbol over on the right, and you will be notified via your browser, feed reader, or whatever you use to follow feeds, as and when the artist or artists you are following add something new.  If you have no idea what an RSS feed is – look at this video here: Using RSS, a post over on my Blog from Italy site.  Note too that you can alos

If you do not find something that appeals, I will be extremely surprised!  Happy browsing!  Beware, though, this site will have you whiling away many hours.  You have been warned!

Dependtendency – Call for Venice 2009 from celeste.prize on Vimeo.

Tina Aimone

Appreciated by both the public and critics, Aimone’s imagery is widely regarded in Italy.

Aimone’s work is noted for its romantic intensity.  An intensity which has been achieved through the artist’s use of differing but complimentary combinations of soft colours.

Tina Aimone paints a range of subjects from landscapes to portraits, still life to religious iconography.

Her landscape work entitled “l’immortalità” which has Mount Etna as its background, portrays the ancient theatre of Sicily’s Taomina, was received particularly well at the “Taomina – Art and Colours’ International art competition.

This painting and other examples of Tina Aimone’s works can be seen below:

"l'immortalità" - Tina Aimone

[View with PicLens]

Aimone would be interested in approaches from those seeking to use her work as a compliment to contruction and interior design pojects, and would consider other proposals involving the incorporation of her work in product design.

Pistoia born Italian sculptor, to whom I spoke today, Luigi Galligani, produces art based on, in the words of the artist himself, ‘Mediterranean myths’. You may agree that his work could be said to be refreshingly original and modern interpretations of figures having their origins in Roman and Greek antiquity.

Working mainly in terracotta and bronze, Galligani’s work is both intriguing and thought provoking. Indeed, his mythically inspired themes have understandably attracted the attention of various galleries around the world.

Born in 1957, Galligani trained at the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence and Carrara. He currently works from his studio which is located in Castellina in Chianti, near Siena.

This artist’s work has also achieved critical acclaim, and he has been hailed as:

"…one of the latest generation of “masters” of Italian sculpture" – Francesco Gurrieri Art Diary Critic, 2003

Here is a selection of Galligani’s pieces:

[View with PicLens]

Should you wish to see more examples of Galligani’s work, then they can be viewed in various locations both around Europe and in North America. The list below provides the locations and dates of exhibitions displaying this artist’s work:

• Rarity Gallery Mykonos Greece (April – October 2008)
• Interart Sculpture Garden Heeswijk – Dinther Holland (May – October 2008)
• Sculpture Exhibition Chateau Neercanne (Gallery bell’Arte ) Maastricht – Holland (May – September 2008)
• Personal Exhibition Gallery bell’arte Maastricht – Holland (November 2008)
• "The Odissey Within" Agora Gallery, New York (December 2008)

More details, and examples of Galligani’s work and information about the artist himself, including contact details, can be found on his personal website: Luigi Galligani

With thanks to Mr Galligani, firstly for having taken the time to speak to me, and for having very kindly given his permission, orally, for Italy is in to display some examples of his work.

This is good news for Italian sculptors who work in this sector. Indeed, one Italian sculptor, Maurizio Cattelan , is just behind the top three sculptors in terms of those artists whose works are most in demand on the worldwide art market.

For other Italian scultptors, such as Gianpietro Carlesso , Angelo Aligia , and Simone Racheli such news is encouraging. The work of these and many other Italian artists is crying out for more recognition.

Actually, the fact that the sculptors featured on this site have not yet attained the recognition they merit is very good news for collectors and speculators. It means that their works can be acquired for very reasonable prices, which will, potentially, increase vastly over time.

However, many artists come up with work which could well be exploited by business, and, indeed, I spoke to an artist about this on Monday. What I suggested was that his work could be turned into another product by an enterprising company. Selling this product would then create an income for the business concerned, and generate royalty payments for the artist. Obviously those in business need to make profits to keep their companies going, and artists need to generate other income streams to help them raise funds to allow them to devote more time to their, for the want of a better word, art.

Artists come up with some excellent designs, which can be used in connection with a great variety of products. At a basic level from postcards to posters, but at a more innovative level, from curtains to car interiors. The possibilities are just about endless, and, potential, the resulting products would be original and eye catching.

Italy is in wants to encourage Italian contemporary artists to go down this path, even if, not all artists will appreciate seeing examples of their work incorporated into everything from mugs to mirrors. However, those who are open to the use of their work in connection with new product development, may possibly generate enough income to permit them to say goodbye to the day job, and be able to devote themselves to their creativity full time.

Of course, not every artist will find a business that is interested enough in their work to make a business propositions, but for those that do, life may well become a little easier.

If you happen to be a business owner who is looking for fresh new designs to use for some product line or other, and the work of one of the artists featured on Italy is in catches your eye, then please contact Italy is in , with details of how you would like to use the artist’s work, and Italy is in will then contact the artist concerned to see if he or she may be interested in taking the idea further.

In general, it would perhaps be fair to say that most artists would like their work to form part of limited edition products, however, those seeking wider exposure, may well be open to ideas resulting in the mass production of goods. They only way to discover what an artist may be interested in, is to establish contact.

Alex Roe of Italy is in speaks English and Italian, and can certainly make the approach necessary, as can Gaetano Salvo, who, while he does not speak English so well, would have no problem discussing business propositions with the artists concerned.

At the end of the day, business relationships of this type can be productive for artists and businesses, without forgetting, of course, the positive effect such partnerships can have on the ‘Made in Italy’ brand.

In the case that Italy is in is aware that an artist is open to business proposals, this will be mentioned in the artist’s profile.

With their seemingly bright bold colours, Fiore’s works combine geometric designs with the gentle curves and forms of the principle elements of trees. From branches and twigs, to trunks and entire woodlands. Yet, despite the use, at times, of a variety of powerful colours by the artist, the resulting images are both striking, and, at the same time, encourage the viewer to hesitate and contemplate each element of the work. Indeed, it is almost as if the artist is provoking reflection on the part of the viewer.

On show will be a selection generously sized images which have been inspired by sections from Paolo Puppa’s play “L’albero di Giuda” – ‘Judah’s tree’. Puppa (profile in Italian) is a professor of theatre history at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.

The Musée Arts et Histoire , can be found at 103 rue Carnot , Bormes Les Mimosas, on the Cote D’Azure, France. If you happen to find yourself in the area at the time, then this exhibition of Fiore’s work presents a great opportunity to view and get to know this artist’ at first hand.

Visit Gaetano Fiore’s personal website , which is available in German and Italian, to see more of his work.

Where:

• PAC – Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea, Via Palestro 14, Milan

When:

• Now until 15 June 2008

Opening hours:

• Mondays 2:30pm to 7:30pm; Tuesdays to Sundays 9:30am to 7:30pm; Late Opening – Thursdays: 9:30am to 10:30pm.

What Aligia primarily attempts to do is to create a form of order from the chaos of natural substances. His work, however, tends to retain and reflect the chaos inherent in such substances, as can be seen from the examples on this page.

On the right is another example of his work which can be seen, incidentally at Algia’s restaurant in Contrada Vrasi, in Maiera’.

His works have been featured in various Italian art galleries of note including Rome’s Rufartgallery .

The artist has also published a book of his work entitled ‘The Song of Silent Stones’ – ‘Il canto delle pietre silenziose’, in which his works compliment and become integral with architecture.

Although now concentrating on the creation of items using stone and rock, in the past Aligia has also worked with metal, wood, and reinforced concrete.

Aligia was born in Maierà in southern Italy in 1959. He now spends his time between Rome and Diamante.

Here is another example of his work, Silenzi:

[View with PicLens]