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:

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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.

Artprice recently published an article - Contemporary sculpture in excellent shape - on the strength of the contemporary sculpture market, particularly with regard to ‘installation’ type works.

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.

Gianpietro Carlesso was born in Bolzano, Italy in 1961, and he lives and works in Cormòns, Italy.

After completing his education at the Trentino State Art Institute, he went on to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Urbino. His held his first exhibition in conjunction with the Valente Contemporary Art Gallery.

Thanks to having won a scholarship from the Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg he spent 1989 and 1990 in Germany in a studio located on the site of the Krupp Steelworks in Rheinhausen. This scholarship in the Rhur basin made a particularly important contribution to his artistic training.

As a result of this experience he came into close contact with the history of continental European sculpture and developed an appreciation of the imposing dimensions of sculptures from beyond the Alps.

It was while resident in Germany at his studio in the Krupp Steelworks in Rhienhausen, that he produced his first large-scale sculptures for a series of museum and public exhibitions. At the same time he worked with the celebrated Gallery 44 in Düsseldorf and the Sander gallery in Darmstadt.

After returning to Italy he spent two years teaching sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Urbino before dedicating himself entirely to his own work. He also worked with the Niccoli gallery of Parma and the Schrade Galley of Ulm.

It was in this period that his work came to be characterised by a specific search for “deconstruction”. The initial fruits this influence upon his work were presented for the first time at the Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara, Italy.

During the mid-90’s he and his family moved to the Friuli region of Italy where Gianpietro came into contact with proprietors and institutions from the near East and this resulted in his participation in a number of exhibitions and projects, he also continued to work with the Rein-Side Winkelmann Gallery in Dussledorf.

Gianpietro’s sculptures are featured at the Winkelmann Gallery in Dussledorf, the Mannheim Galley, the German Post Office in Dortmund, the Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, the Bolzano Museum of Modern Art and in various private Italian collections of note.

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Please Note:

Although we are more than happy to put people in touch with Gianpietro Carlesso, we feel we ought to point out that attempts to ‘bypass’ galleries stocking his work in an attempt to obtain a lower price will cause problems for the artist.

In much the same way as a business, Gianpietro uses distributors to sell work on his behalf. To an extent this means that such outlets have a form of ‘exclusive’ supply agreement with him.

If Gianpietro is seen to be avoiding such agreements, then he will end up with no distributors, and thus no outlets for his work. This means no income for him, or his family. This would be a shame, and it is the last thing I would wish to happen, as I am sure my readers will appreciate.

However, if you live in a country or town where Gianpietro has no distributors, then direct contacts are fine, especially if you wish to display or sell his work.

In light of the above, if you still want to contact Gianpietro, please get in touch - although I will strictly vet any requests and if I smell scam/fraud, then your contact will become free space on my hard drive.