Gianpietro Carlesso

Biography of the Artist

Gianpietro Carlesso was born in Bolzano (Bozen) in 1961 and lives and works in Cormòns, Friuli, Italy. In 1984 he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Urbino.
In 1986 he set up his first studio in Monzuno in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, where he developed and implemented his artistic ideas. It was from this period that he produced his first distinctive works, participated in his first solo and collective exhibitions and began collaborations with critics and gallerists that were to last for a long time.
In 1989 he was in Germany as a fellow of the Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg, where he had a large working space in the Krupp steelworks in Rheinhausen. He had the opportunity to visit several major museums of modern and contemporary art and came into contact with the historical experience of European sculpture. He created his first large-scale works for a number of museum and public exhibitions. During these years he began a close collaboration with a number of important German galleries, which over time organised several of his exhibitions.
In 1990, an important solo exhibition was held at the Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg.
After returning to Italy in 1991, he taught sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Urbino, replacing his teacher Raffaello Scianca.
Since 1992 he has devoted himself entirely to freelance work. He also spent a long time on the Murge plateau in Apulia, where his observations of the archaic landscape and the spectacular tufa quarries led to his "Deconstruzioni" (Deconstructions), which were presented for the first time in 1992 at the Palace of Diamonds in Ferrara.
The Museion in Bozen (Bolzano), the Chiostro del Buon Gesù in Fabriano and later the squares and alleys of the Aia Piccola district in Alberobello, Apulia (Puglia), were also important occasions for exhibiting this cycle of works in anthological form.

Artistic career up to the use of Lasa marble as the preferred material

The journey in 1995 in search of Nero Zimbabwe, a type of granite found in the quarries in the north of the South African country, marked Gianpietro Carlesso's further artistic career as a significant experience. The monolith of absolutely black granite called "Nero Africa" completed the cycle of "Deconstructions".
In 1996, a trip to Sicily and a trip to Mount Etna was a new source of inspiration for his sculptures. The lava competing with the Mediterranean vegetation inspired him to create a new cycle of works: "le Integrazioni" (the Integrations).
"Hate/Love", one of the first integrations, was presented at the Museum of Modern Art in Dubrovnik in 1998, after the conflict in the former Yugoslavia.
In 1993 he moved with his family to Friuli, where he came into contact with workers and institutions in neighbouring Eastern European countries and organised a series of exhibitions and projects in Croatia and Slovenia. The relationship between the inorganic matter of stones and the organic nature of plants brought his observation ever closer to the subjects of biology and science. Phenomena such as plant migration or the biological memory of seeds are translated into sculptures such as "Monumento clandestino" (Clandestine Monument), "La memoria del bosco" (The Memory of the Forest) or "Promemoria".
In 2005, an extensive exhibition of this group of sculptures was shown at the Museum of Ljubljana and other important venues in the Slovenian capital.
In Austria, the sculptor had the opportunity to create two permanent installations. In 2006, the "Felix Island" in the Speichersee, an artificial lake, on the Schmittenhöhe (Zell am See) at an altitude of around 1800 metres, and in 2009 the "Crossroads" in the former Benedictine monastery Stift Millstatt.
In 2008, he took part in the 11th International Architecture Biennale, with "Equilibrio dinamico della città in divenire" (Dynamic Balance of the City in the Making). The large sculpture, commissioned by the City of Milan, shows the new plan of the city administration, designed by Studio Metrogramma. The work is currently in the Polytechnic University of Milan. Carlesso then received a private commission for a work in the public space of the city of Bolzano (Bozen).
"Pulsar", made from a single block of red porphyry, is the sculpture that has dominated the square in front of Bolzano's town hall since 2009.
During this time, his interest in systemic thinking grew: thus began the cycle of "Curvature" (bending forms).
A first selection of sculptures was presented in 2011 at the cultural centre "Trieste Contemporanea", while in 2013 a larger exhibition was held at the fortress "Castello Normanno-Svevo" in Bari.
In spring 2014, the sculptor created a limestone sculpture on the small panoramic terrace of the harbour alley Vico Porto in Polignano a Mare. The special light of the place and the strong presence of the sea evoked a feeling of infinity. The result was "Eterno Presente" (Eternal Presence), a large-scale "curvatura" made of Apulian Mazzaro stone.
In 2013, Carlesso began collaborating with the Ronchini Gallery in London, expanding the visibility of his artistic output by participating in international exhibitions. He also presented his work at the gallery's London location, first in 2016 together with painter Paolo Serra and then in 2018 as part of a solo exhibition.
This latest exhibition, with the emblematic title "Variazioni" (Variations), focuses on two large-scale works of the same form, made of different materials: Wood and Corten steel.
Recently, his artistic research has focused on a new series of sculptures: "Le Interazioni" (The Interactions).
For some years now, Carlesso has preferred to create his works in Lasa marble, a material perfectly suited to the shapes he creates and the way he works with them.

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