SCULPTURE

2021, Made in Antella

"A Party for Betty" 

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 "A party for Betty (Woodman)" is a project created during a month-long residency in Betty Woodman's home-studio in Antella, Tuscany in August 2021. I produced an eclectic group of bas-relief figures in majolica obtained with a variety of plastic interventions in the extraordinary atmosphere of Betty Woodman's studio, using her colors and firing in her artisanal kiln. Betty's aesthetic influence can be felt in these works, charged with her extraordinary personality and expressive freshness that characterized her.

The 45 bas-relief figures are based on a series of human profiles of which I created variations, resulting in characters different in material, color and form. Each metaphysical individual has a symbolic charge that makes them unique. They are a metaphor for a globalized world of different cultures, ethnicities and genders. At the same time, they are recognizable as members of the collective unconscious, that despite the very great diversity that exists, unites them in one common denominator. Since this is a party to celebrate Betty Woodman, the guests seem to be dressed in her aesthetic. I tried to interpret the playfulness and freshness that rendered her famous, using her own pigments, her clay, engobes and glazes.

 

"A Party for Betty (Woodman)" was born in Betty’s house, unconsciously without forethought. I gradually worked out the definition of the figures, firing them several times before achieving the expressive dimension I was looking for. Staying in her country house with Florence visible in the distance on one side and Impruneta on the another, you feel her personality. Everything speaks of her, from the furniture, to the objects, her books to her ceramic creations. A place that leaves a mark on you, penetrates you.

My artistic production during my residency at the Casa Woodman revealed itself as a homage to this American artist. Her example of cultural openness and cross-fertilization of exchange between Italy and America compelled me to create this work as a symbolic representation of peaceful coexistence between different global cultures that is crucial in our contemporary world.

The installation consists of 45 bas-relief figures, ranging in height from 30 to 43 centimeters. It is composed of groups of figures who seem to converse. "A Party for Betty (Woodman)" can be adapted to the gallery space through the breaking up of the installation into its constituent parts of interacting characters.