Oliviero Leonardi Explained

Oliviero Leonardi
Birth Date:7 July 1921
Birth Place:Vezzano, Trentino, Italy
Death Place:Jonzac, Charente-Maritime, France
Occupation:Painter, sculptor

Oliviero Leonardi (July 7, 1921  - January 30, 2019) was an Italian art painter and sculptor based in Rome. He was known for his ceramic paintings on steel plates enamelled in ovens at 900 degrees Celsius. His artistic research focused on, among other subjects, cosmogony.

Early life

Leonardi was born in 1921 in Vezzano, Trentino in Italy.[1] He was a member of a family of ceramists from Trentino, learning skills and spending time during his youth in his father’s kiln.[2] [3] [4]

After the war, he spent 6 years on the island of Capri where he devoted himself to philosophical and artistic studies, discovering oriental philosophy, and esoteric symbols of primitive languages. He expanded his creative experiences with wood, clay, plastics and canvas, and discovered the possibilities of high temperatures and steel.[5]

Work

He travelled to Florence, Venice, Paris, Ravenna and Rome in addition to Capri. In Rovereto, he was discovered by Fortunato Depero, who became a friend and advisor.

He was a member of the in Rome. In 1965, he was a speaker at Congresso lnternazionale di Ceramira in San Marino and at Convegno d'Arte di Verrucchio.[6]

Leonardi created ceramic paintings on steel at "high-fire".[7] His creative process involved painting on steel plates fired and enamelled in ovens at 900 degrees Celsius.[8] His artistic research focused, among others, on the subject of cosmogony and was influenced by surrealism.[9] Leonardi created his art studio at Via Aurelia Antica 289, an old ruined farmhouse that he rehabilitated in the outskirts of Rome within the premises of Villa Doria Pamphili.[10] In 1972, he founded the Romacrea art school at Via Aurelia Antica 289.[11]

In October 1974, he was nominated Professor of Modern Arts by Michele Tana, the Rector of the Libera Accademia Laurentina in Rome.[12] German art historian Gustav René Hocke wrote a monograph on Leonardi in 1978.[13] Leonardi's work reviewed by Giulio Carlo Argan,[14] Philippe Fontana, Aldo Del Gaudio, and Dolores Montane.[15] His work was exhibited in Italy, Spain, Monaco, Germany, Luxembourg and France (including Galerie Drouant).[16] He exhibited with artists including Giorgio De Chirico, Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró during the Contemporary Art Exhibition in 1975 in Fiuggi, Italy.[17]

Leonardi was commissioned to create works for public spaces, including a temporary project the subway of the Municipality of Rome and the Pan American Airlines headquarters in New York, Pan Air do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, as well as United Arab Airlines, Cairo.

He died in Charentes Maritimes in France in 2019.

Exhibitions

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Oliviero Leonardi, ID card . 1 April 2024 .
  2. Web site: Leonardi, Oliverio . Benezit Dictionary of Artists . 1 April 2024.
  3. Oliviero Leonardi . Arte Mercato . 6 . 4–5 . it.
  4. Book: Genazzano 86 Internazionale d'Arte . . it.
  5. Book: Benezit . Benezit Dictionary Of Artists, Koort-Maekava . 2006 . Grund . Internet Archive.
  6. Book: Silvio Branzi . CONVEGNO Internazionale Artisti, Critici e Studiosi d' Arte (Rimini-Verucchio-San Marino) 1959-1965 . 1959.
  7. Book: Gaetano Bonifati . Il colore del capo scuola della pittura su acciaio a gran fuoco . 1975.
  8. Book: Philippe Fontana . Philippe Fontana in Arte Contemporanea . 1976.
  9. Web site: Oliviero Leonardi ARTIST DATABASE . 2024-02-03 . www.artistdatabase.com.
  10. Book: Aldo Del Gaudio . Dall'io all'eternita . 1989.
  11. Web site: Patrizia Simonetti @ Rome Art Week . 2024-02-03 . Rome Art Week . en-US.
  12. Book: Accademia Laurentina Oliviero Leonardi.
  13. Book: Gustav Renée Hocke . Nuovo Esoterismo Umanistico - Monograph of Oliviero Leonardi . 1978.
  14. Book: Giulio Carlo Argan in Musagete . Successo a Parigi: 10e personale . 1977.
  15. Web site: Oliviero Leonardi Exhibitions and CV . 2024-02-04 . Internet Archive . en.
  16. Web site: Leonardi, Oliviero . 2024-02-03 . Benezit Dictionary of Artists . 2011 . en . 10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.b00107821.
  17. Book: Giorgio Tellan . Oliviero Leonardi espone a Parigi, Cimento Volume XII 1975 . 1975.
  18. Web site: Nella sede del club . 2024-02-03 . Archivio Storico Luce . it.
  19. 1976 . Oliviero Leonardi à la galerie des arts contemporains . Journal de Monaco . 9.
  20. Book: l'Unità (1977-11-06) . 1977-11-06 . Italian.
  21. Book: Catalogue VIII Limoges Biennale . 1986.