MARZIA GANDINI ARTIST IN NATURE
My works are the result of an unconscious process; there is no planning in how I choose my subjects. My works originate from images that strike me, which I then recompose and paint on canvas or shape in clay.
Amidst the historical and architectural beauty of Palazzo Taverna, on Via di Monte Giordano in Rome, there is a small studio made grand by the art of those who work there. Here, Marzia Gandini paints and sculpts, conveying emotions and states of mind through artworks that depict figures and landscapes in constant connection with nature.
It is a clear journey beyond the idea of separation of the individual in today’s world, by observing and connecting with the life that pulses around us, in the vegetation and animals that surround us.
A long stay in the United States provided a rich educational experience before returning to Italy to collaborate with renowned galleries. Among these, a collective exhibition at the American Academy in Rome, curated by Martha Boyden, titled Artists’ Choice, where established artists invited emerging talents.
On that occasion, Marzia Gandini was invited by Sandro Chia and had the opportunity to present a large triptych, as well as a collaborative piece. We had the pleasure of meeting the artist in her studio, where we had the chance to admire both completed and in-progress works of great impact.
Marzia, how was your experience in New York in terms of your personal artistic research in both painting and sculpture?
«It was a very intense experience. My works were centered on the idea of loneliness and incommunicability in large urban centers. I took photos and then painted in oil on canvas, depicting people inside subway cars or waiting rooms at airports—places of transit and passage.»
«At the same time, I also made commissioned portraits. In my sculptures, the underlying theme was the idea of contact and separation: figures sometimes placed in dialogue, other times presented alone, fragments cast in plaster or fused in metal.»
«The core of my research has always been an investigation into the human dimension, which I represented through figures placed in urban settings or sparse spaces, such as in the dance series inspired by the Bill T. Jones dance company, which I had the opportunity to know during the Roma Europa Festival.»
«I lived for many years between Europe and the United States, and the concept of transience has been central to my work.»
Most people follow the “American dream” to succeed in the U.S. What made you decide to return to Rome, where you now reside permanently?
«The United States offers many opportunities; it is a very fluid society where everything moves fast, and sometimes it is difficult to find balance among so many stimuli.»
«New York is incredibly stimulating but also extremely tough and competitive: work is everything, and you try to give your best, often sacrificing everything else. There are major galleries that set trends, and museums host extraordinary exhibitions—art is central in New York.»
«I spent most of my time in my studio, but at the end of the day, I would meet friends at gallery openings, museums scattered throughout the city, or other events.»
«Before moving, I studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, then attended courses at the Sculpture Center in New York and worked as an assistant to several artists, including Izhar Patkin, Kim Crowley, Craig McPherson, and Cynthia Karasek.»
«Having trained in Italy, I always had classical art as a reference. In New York, I had to confront the multiplicity of contemporary art languages, which led me to explore artists working with different media.»
«A period of training abroad is certainly important: you come into contact with a different culture that forces you to be open and receptive to diversity, but it also presents many challenges. The people I met came from all over the world, yet there was always a common sense of sharing and exchange that transcended differences.»
«However, by 2001, I began to feel the desire to return to Europe—I missed my family and my roots. Then came September 11, the attacks, and the collapse of the Twin Towers. I was in Italy preparing a solo exhibition at Galleria Vetrina Contemporanea by Elisabetta Giovagnoni, and I decided to stay in Rome.»
Rosario Schibeci