Virtual Tour - Part 3

Hello dear friends of the Frilli Gallery and welcome back to our third appointment on a virtual tour of the gallery here in Florence. As you may have read, the gallery is open again to the public from Monday, May 18th. Nevertheless, we know that many of you won't be able to visit us in a long time. Therefore, we have thought of continuing our sessions of virtual tour of the gallery. Today I will introduce you to three other artists that have been for a long time part of the Frilli Gallery Contemporary Art Collection. So please follow me now and I'll Giovanni Valdemi is the marble artist in the Frilli Gallery, the one that reconnects the gallery with its origins of marble and alabaster laboratory and studio. Giovanni was born and raised in the slopes of the Apon Alps, where the white Carrara marble quarries are located. The gigantic white Carrara blocks have always been part of his physical and cultural heritage. Giovanni Valdemi is like a poet in art. His phrases and emotions are sculpted deep inside the marble, transforming his verses in delicate roses, of which you can almost perceive the or elongated women figures of which you can still recall the ancient classic traits. When watching the soft curves balanced with the drastic lines of Giovanni's sculptures, one can perceive his caresses, his touches, his chisel shots while carving it. These gigantic blocks are standing fierce and strong, confirming the repressible and powerful force of this noble and eternal material. Ugo Riva is probably the most affirmed and eminent sculptor represented by the Frilli Gallery. He has been sculpting for more than 40 years now and he is one of the most talented Italian living artists on the scene now. Ugo Riva once said, sculpting is a very complex matter, a word added to a form, ultimately helping to understand it, ultimately helping to define it. His bronzes are always very materic and this is one of the most emblematic features of his sculptures. His most dear subjects are women and angels. The first have always been the true object of his admiration and adoration. His women are never idealized, they are a true embodiment of the female nature. His angels on the other hand are fully fledged guardian angels, symbolizing a sort of everlasting protection from all adversities, a token of hope. Maria Gamundi was born in Caracas, Venezuela. She studied at the Pratt Institute in New York City and she currently lives and works in Persilia, Tuscany. Her female nudes exude a sculptural force, exalted by her deep knowledge of the materials, which she works indifferently with great expertise, whether it is Three main roots define her poetic. The first is European and represents the link with classicism. This is a heritage coming from the artist's father, he was Spanish. The second is South American, part of the artist's roots descend from natives of Venezuela. The third and most profound is femininity, female nature, female power, a universal and timeless root.