 | Riccardo Grazzi was born in Florence in 1961, grew in Rapolano the land of "lapis tiburtinus" quarries, of the "travertine", the stone which has made known everywhere, from the time of the Etruscans and Romans, this area of Tuscany, located between Val di Chiana and Crete di Siena. During the university he attended the course of Sculpture in the most prestigious stony academy: Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara, the city so near from the white quarries of Alpi Apuane. The father of Riccardo, an expert craftsman of travertine and an incomparable works performer, even of famous Artists, has initiated him since his childhood into the secrets of "manipulation", processing and "functional transformation" of stone material extracted from the quarries of Serre di Rapolano. Laboratories and quarries of his Tuscany always represent for him a constant presence, part of his DNA. During his youth spent in Carrara, he attended the workshops and art laboratories of the city, deepening further his knowledge on the noble stone material, refining on the Carrara marble the experience already consolidated on travertine of Serre. His skills have been gradually verified "on the ground" and encouraged on several occasions by Great Masters such as: Floriano BODINI (the sculptor of Pope Paul VI), Pietro CASCELLA, Joe TILSON. He has collaborated, since the beginning of his artistic activity, in the construction of huge Arts yards like "Campo del Sole" of Tuoro sul Trasimeno with Pietro Cascella, Mauro Berrettini, Cordelia Von Den Steinen and many others. Crucial will be the meeting with Mario Guidotti, his "primitive" and respected "mentor". The friendship with Pier Giorgio Balcchi, his professor of sculpture at the Accademy, is consolidated in the early 90s when mutual collaborations led to important experiences in international sculpture symposiums and other events, and through which in 1994 met Tiziano Bedonni with who has undertaken significant collaborations for exhibitions and commissions. Riccardo Grazzi has started since young his exhibitions, his first one was in 1983 when he was 22 years old in Marina di Carrara (Tuscany), and his first "commission" was in 1984 for the realization of the "Four Evangelists" sculpture for the Cathedral of Pianezza in the Province of Turin (Piedmont). After followed important "commissions" of monumental sculptures, such as: "Monument to resistance" in 1994 for a square of Modena (Emilia-Romagna), "Monumental fountain" in 1995 in Fanano (Mo), "Temple of Music and Sports" in 1999, sculptural realization in the villa of Modena of the Maestro Luciano PAVAROTTI, "Portal of the Mystery" in 2000, sculpture on the seafront of Follonica (Gr). There are also numerous collective and mostly "personal" exhibitions from 1983 until today, of which, most recently in time, deserves mention the XXXVII edition of "Forms in Green", the international show of contemporary sculpture designed and directed by the art critic Mario Guidotti in San Quirico d'Orcia in the beautiful setting of "Horti Leonini" and entirely dedicated in 2007 to its "Archisculptures". Recently in 2008, the last "personal" one was dedicated to him by the Museum of Serre of Rapolano (Siena), conceived by Tiziano Bedonni. Many of the most attentive experts of sculptural art have written about Riccardo Grazzi, such as: Mario Guidotti, Omar Calabrese, Mariano Apa and Giuliano Centrodi. |
