Instudio catalog

Curated ByJennifer Kelly Hoskins

Mary-Madeleine de Bellescize Haley Markham

Sadie Sullivan

STUDIOIN3.12 .14 10.12 .14

GANZO, the creative learning lab of Florence University of the Arts, continues its program

of exhibitions with the works of students. The “In Studio” exhibit is a compilation of

works done by Florence University of the Arts students (School of Fine Arts) that explore

mediums done in various classes such as Words, Painting and Emotions: The Mind

Map of Creativity, Foundation Drawing, Florence Sketchbook, Foundation Painting,

Mixed Media and Ceramics. The artworks deal with a mixture of mediums including

ceramics, paint, oil, graphite pencil, and much more. Each class explores a different

theme that allows the students to interpret that specific theme in their own way.

The title of the new exhibition presented at Ganzo’s AperiArt is an explanation of the

educational path of the students. It’s a dynamic process in which students, as foreigners

in Florence, have the chance to navigate, observe, listen, analyze, and perceive new

contexts. A process that has also allowed them to be “in the studio” and experience

the daily life of the artist, in close contact with themselves and their creative expression.

Vitality accompanied by reflection is felt in each featured work: this is the greatest

satisfaction for the instructors after guiding the students through experiential learning,

demonstrating yet again how learning is about practical application and facing challenges.

Student Curators

STUDIO

Curated ByJennifer Kelly Hoskins

Mary-Madeleine de Bellescize Haley Markham

Sadie Sullivan

3.12 .14 10.12 .14GANZO via de’ Macci, 85/r Firenze

IN

FUA FLORENCE UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS

“From inner visualization to painting: a process”

Nostalgia

WORDS, PAINTING, AND EMOTIONS: THE MIND MAP OF CREATIVITY NICOLETTA SALOMON

Andra GuzzoThere is a calm yet somber mood indicated in my two pieces that came from an inner

visualization of two colors. While coming up with the concept for my piece, the term nostalgia emerged,

and it strongly resonated within me. Nostalgia means going back or having a yearning for the past; it

can be happy or painful. I feel both are encompassed in my works. It is interesting for me to see the

similarities and opposition within the two works after completing the whole process. The combination of

happy and painful merged to form a bittersweet feeling within. The two pieces work together to bridge

the gap between my myself and my emotions. It is interesting to note that that the purple work came

before the yellow work. I see my previous mindset working in relations to what I have come to discovr

now. These discoveries are strongly tied with how I feel about myself.

Nostalgia II


I begin with a rough sketch of the Ponte Vecchio, then decide what I want the composition to look like.

From there, I begin with mixing colors to create a palette to work from. My emotions through the process

when making an abstract painting in Plein Air verses a non abstract painting differ drastically.

I feel free and without fear, when painting abstract, sometimes the final result can be disappointing

but its the process I enjoy the most.

The Beginning

With little surface to work with, I discovered it was easier for me to highlight

the abstract approach to painting in Plein Air.

Breaking Sun

WORDS, PAINTING, AND EMOTIONS: THE MIND MAP OF CREATIVITY


Blinded by the Light

SOCIAL PRACTICES OF CONTEMPORARY ART LUCIA GIARDINO

Alice CheesemanKaelynn MaloneyDanielle McCleaveSarah Opitz

While the beginning of our project took place in the studios at FUA, the primary and essential interactions happened at the

Il Giglio residence. According to their website, Il Giglio “is a structure that can accommodate seniors with varying degrees

of autonomy. “ The community off ers up to 60 beds for seniors who desire to reside either with or without roommates;

and the fl oors are organized according to the varying levels of autonomy, primarily based on those residents with dementia.

Upon our fi rst visit to Il Giglio, we were greeted by residents of all varieties - as young as fi fty and as old as ninety.

What was immediately striking was the strong sense of community and care for the residents by the staff members.

Elderly care facilities in the United States are often marked by a sterile and unfamiliar quality, yet the atmosphere in Il

Giglio is one of warmth and community. Diff erent amenities such as common areas, infi rmaries, a gym, and a green area

are available for resident use. We entered their space as cultural and generational outsiders, with the intention of bridging

the gap between these two cohorts. Much of our task in working with the residents of the Il Giglio community was about

breaking barriers and conversing, building trust. The fi rst barrier was gaining clearance to work in such a community.

After given clearance, our next great wall to shatter would be to gain emotional clearance. As strangers and foreigners,

patience was an essential element in overcoming cultural and linguistic barriers.

Initially, our ideas to build relationships revolved around creating a sort of collection of art - produced and curated by the

residents. However, after our fi rst sketching exercises, we quickly realized that the ultimate goal of a resident show would

be too overwhelming. Instead we decided to focus on the needs of expression of the residents. We created notebooks to

give to the residents, with which we would also assign them sketching exercises to improve their technical skills as well as

their solidarity as Il Giglio residents.

The essential ideal that we hope to reveal in that beauty is being unapologetically oneself. This idea was taken from another

class exercise, in which we read what other FUA students defi ned as “beauty”. The phrase “being unapologetically oneself”

is the title of our work and experience with the residents because we witnessed them in their unique forms.

American culture deems youth as ideal beauty, so it is through our work with an older population that we may begin to

dispel this common belief. We have observed the residents mostly in their body language because of our language barrier.

In doing so, we have learned that language and understanding are much deeper than linguistic coherence.

We have learned about the residents through their physical quirks and in a way to insert ourselves into their unique

dialogue, we will fi lm ourselves copying their movements. In this action, we aim to gain a bodily sense of their individual situations.


Unapologetically Oneself

MIXED MEDIA PARIDE MORETTI

Danielle McCleaveDespite my extremely urban upbringing, from living in Orlando, LA, Dallas, and Nashville, my heart has always been with

nature. The complexity of growth that is displayed so humbly within fi elds and trees fascinates me. There is a quiet life that is

always present, but never begging for attention. So, when I came to Florence to study art, I was caught a little off guard by

how absent green life was. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore city life and the movement and energy of the people that

live there, but even in the large cities that I had lived in, there were always spurts of nature amidst the streets and buildings.

But for Florence, one must search to fi nd nature within the city center. What I generally thought of as nature was not present,

there seemed to be no life in the city. But with that thought I realized that the city on the contrary to my initial concepts had so

much life. That instead of trees and shrubs being the city’s nature, the people that moved and lived throughout the city were

the “nature.” So for my piece I decided to allow the “nature” of the city, humans, to leave their fi ngerprints on the green life

from the hidden places of the city. Showing that in a city even absent of “nature” that the inhabitants of it become the life.

All Natural

MIXED MEDIA

Jillian ShawThe history of mapping begins with the stars. The ancients would look up at the sky every night and use the stars to make

sense of their world on earth, most importantly was The North Star which is part of a grouping of stars called Ursa Minor,

or Little Bear. This grouping of stars is a constellation. What I fi nd interesting about constellations is that they are no more

than a few connected lines that humans have decided have a meaning. We connected these random points of light above us

with astrology and mythological stories. We have a canon of constellations, but who is to say those are the only shapes and

fi gures represented by the stars? I explored the idea of creating my own constellations from random holes in paper.

Astrum

Brianna Greenwell

Untitled

FOUNDATION PAINTING ALESSANDRA RAGIONIERI

Devin Culpepper

Untitled


Genevieve Kunz

Untitled

FOUNDATION PAINTING

Kelsey Norton

Untitled

Jennifer Hoskins

Volterra


FOUNDATION DRAWING ALESSANDRA RAGIONIERI

Andra GuzzoThis work titled Legs was completed in Foundation Drawing. The assignment was to work in

pastel to defi ne the correct proportions and skin tones of the models legs.

By using a mixture of white, red, and yellow, I was able to accomplish a similar skin tone to

that of the model. I added blue, purple, and brown to better defi ne the shadows displayed in

the legs. Smudging was used to smooth the texture of the pastel, while some of the texture

was left in the beginnings of the fabric. The main focus of the piece was the legs of the

model so the body, chair, and fabric are left uncompleted.

Legs


Timothy Dominic AheneAs I am still a beginner in drawing, details and shading have not been my strong points.

This work was an opportunity to explore abstract ways of showing detail, and the use

of shadows. I have always liked high contrast in artwork. In my opinion, it allows one

to focus more on the subject of the artwork. In choosing the space on the paper that

the drawing would occupy, I was inspired by a painting I saw before I drew the tower.

While my implementation of the style varies from the painting I saw, I believe, the egg-

shaped space works better than a rectangular one would have worked.

Tower in Perspective

FLORENCE SKETCHBOOK PARIDE MORETTI

Mackenzie KollingThese pieces are studies of patterns found in churches in Florence. For these pieces,

I explored the flat, two-dimensional planes of these patterns and attempted to create

new spaces within the predetermined repetition with the use of tone and color.

Florentine Pattern I


Florentine Pattern II

FLORENCE SKETCHBOOK

Kimberly Knowles

Studios: Fractured Grey


Devin Culpepper

This assignment we were required to fi nd and replicate a Florentine pattern. It was not diffi cult fi nding

one when Florence is surrounded with beautiful elaborate designs. During my time in Florence I did a lot

of traveling so I would spend a lot of my time walking to the Santa Maria Novella train station. Every walk

there I would have to pass the Santa Maria Basilica, and just stare at the amazing patterns conversing the

outside architecture. Everything about the design was so intricate and perfect it was just amazing to me

that someone was able to create it. I wanted to attempt creating this design and while also portraying the

elaborate process that goes into laying it out. Using watercolor for the fi nished look, I left parts uncolored,

with guidelines would use to measure out my process. Being able to step back and see my process

of how I created it was one of my favorite parts about this piece.

The Patterns of Santa Maria Novella

CERAMICS ADVANCED GAETANO CUNSOLO

Elizabeth Rago“Of the Earth.” The feeling of caricature is created by the over exaggeration of specific qualities in a

work in order to convey more clearly the character of the subject. I utilized the lower portion of the face,

rather than the eyes, as a challenge to myself to convey the agitation of the spirit in a more difficult way.

Throughout this process I used minimal features in a gestural manner producing clarity through obscurity.

Varying the way in which I worked with each mask, I believe, established a fresh feeling in the pieces.

Variables included wetness of the clay and the amount of clay that I would add at a time during the

building process. In carving the excess clay out from within them, I made them as thin and delicate as

possible to contrast with their rough exterior and added clay dust to specific areas around the mouth to

generate visual interest and further texture. I feel the wetness of the clay that was present during most of

construction brings out the aboriginal quality that resembling a mud mask. My hope was to make these

pieces feel like they were unmistakably made out of clay and to feel very “touched” and worked with.

These pieces represent the fact that as humans were created from dust and will return to it. These faces

are extremely expressive and lively like the time that we spend in this world, but resemble stone to show

that death is always a reality, even in life.

Untitled

CERAMICS ADVANCED

Mackenzie KollingAs an artist, I am inspired by all things organic. To me, organic forms are the most beautiful because they don’t try to be.

They simply are. Their unconscious nature and state of being, whether in a state of growth or decay, is beautiful to

me, both in its simplicity and its complexity. The organic doesn’t try to conform to what it isn’t. No matter the lengths

mankind goes to control what is wild, the natural will never be overcome. In contrast with the seemingly chaotic world

of the natural, I seek to recreate such forms and combine them to create new forms, using hyper-controlled carving

methods paired with a more gestural, loose construction, allowing the clay the chance to reveal its true organic nature

as well. My work serves as a way for me to express both my awe of creation and to observe the effects of mankind on

that which we did not create.

For this piece, I chose to base the form off of a human heart. This form, like many of the forms in my work, is combined

with the form of the Veiled Lady mushroom. I frequently use this form because it holds such a quality of alien beauty.

It is an unrecognizable form to many, but is at the same time, somewhat familiar and undoubtedly organic in nature.

For this reason, it is the perfect form for my work, as I want the work to be obvious in its organic origin, but at

the same time, unrecognizable as one thing in particular. My pieces tend to be a combination of things, and are

therefore something new. My drawing, on the other hand, conveys the attempt to organize that which, by its very

nature, is seemingly disorganized. Perhaps it isn’t truly disorganized; perhaps it simply has its own way of order that

we don’t understand. This, paired with the contrast within the human heart form, causes the work to be somewhat

uncomfortable.

There is a sort of tension, between delicate and heavy, detailed and gestural, order and disorder. In this way, my work

reflects that nature is never perfect by mankind’s standards. However, by using the human heart form, I remind the

viewer of the true wild nature of humankind; that no matter how we evolve, we will still, in our innermost selves, be

organic, crooked, imperfect. We will always lack control.

My original vision for the sculpture was to create a highly detailed and realistic piece. Throughout the process of creating

this piece, however, its concept began to challenge that which within me seeks to control every aspect of what I create.

It became a challenge to myself, to allow the clay to have space to move and breathe and behave organically in its

own way. The drawing then became a demonstration of what the sculpture could have been, a hyper-detailed, hyper-

controlled hyper-realistic piece; a piece that demonstrated total control and ordered predictability over the organic

medium. I realized that this was very thing I wished to confront the viewer about. However, but the end of this process,

I found that my work had confronted me.


Heart

CERAMICS ADVANCED

Jillian ShawMy piece is a representation of sea rocks, reimagined in the form of functional pottery.

The concept of recreating the look of sea cliffs came to me before visiting the island of Capri in Italy.

Once I saw the cliffs there in person, I knew that I wanted to recreate what I saw. The rocks I saw were overwhelmingly

beautiful.One of the most interesting details I noticed while in Capri was the waters tendency to erode the rocks in

strange ways. This can even include a gaping hole in the bottom of a rock formation. I wanted to show this curious

phenomenon in my piece, by designing a texture that would show how waves beat up against the surface of the rock

and creating a form that had an arch.

Erosion


Richard McNultyThis series was inspired by the delicate and intimate relationship between humanity and the natural world. With a turning

point reaching our doorstep we must spark our love for our origins and learn to treat Nature as our rightful mother.

Ceramics provides the unique opportunity to work with raw nature and turn into a reflection of ourselves. The unfired

stone-like figures close the gap by allowing a symbiosis to be reached between the purely uninhibited nature and the

need to express my wonder for our earthly home. The impossible patchwork of stone textures paired with their vulnera-

ble physical state reflects the tensions that humanity has self-inflicted by abusing Nature.

Untitled

CERAMICS BEGINNER GAETANO CUNSOLO

Kayla Lovelance

Study of a Shoe


Valerie Wyatt

Study of an Ikebana

STUDIOIN

STUDIOIN3.12 .14 10.12 .14

GANZO via de’ Macci, 85/r Firenze

JENNIFER KELLY HOSKINS

MARY-MADELEINE DE BELLESCIZE

HALEY MARKHAM

SADIE SULLIVAN

Student Curators

GIOVANNI ROSSIELLO

Faculty Coordinator

GABRIELLA GANUGIFUA President

THOMAS BROWNLEESSAS Chair

GIULIO VINCIFUA General Manager

LUCIA GIARDINOSocial Practices of Contemporary Art

ALESSANDRA RAGIONIERIFoundation Painting | Foundation Drawing

PARIDE MORETTIMixed Media | Florence Sketchbook

NICOLETTA SALOMONWords, Painting, and Emotions: The Mind Map of Creativity

GAETANO CUNSOLOCeramics Beginning | Ceramics Advanced

SUSANNA BAUSIPress Office

ALBERTO SIMONCIONIGraphic Designer

Special thanks to Ganzo staff

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

www.fua.it | www.ganzoflorence.com

Instudio catalog

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