WORKSHOPS OF PIETRASANTA
In Pietrasanta, there is a particularly strong Danish connection to Fonderia Artistica Mariani – a famous bronze foundry which for more than 60 years has been the leading workshop with some 40 employees. The foundry has worked with Marino Marini, Henry Moore, Fernando Botero, Igor Mitoraj to name some, and several Danish artists. The same goes for stone mason Massimo Galleni amongst others.
Denmark has more than 200 monuments and art works in museums and in the street that, unbeknownst to many, are manufactured in Pietrasanta. Below are a few examples: Bronze Gate at Roskilde Cathedral (Peter Brandes) Bronze Gate at Viborg Cathedral (Maja Lisa Engelhardt) Statue of H.C. Andersen at Odense Railway Station (Bjørn Nørgaard) Bronze statue, Mammuttanden in Ribe (John Olsen) Bronze sculptures in Herning (Carl-Henning Pedersen) Marble Altar in Lyngby Church (Christian Lemmerz) Marble column in Grøndals Church (Sophia Kalkau) Stairs, Rigshospitalet, 60-meter mosaic (Erik A. Frandsen)
The productive relationship between the Pietrasanta workshops and the artists has resulted in 50 years of Danish art history with the foundry as a focal point and this led to Adolfo Agolini, dedicated owner and manager, being awarded the order of chivalry by HM Queen Margrethe II. A huge honor for an Italian craftsman and without precedent.
The Art Residency collaborates with the workshops listed below.
The resident artist can choose to work with one for major projects, or all of them for smaller projects. Only with Aldo Galleni there is a fixed agreement. The artist can choose not to do graphic prints, but the budget is not transferable to other projects.
FONDERIA MARIANI
Fonderia Mariani was founded in 1952 by Claudio Mariani.
Since then, the foundry has grown from a small workshop to one of the world’s leading artistic bronze casting foundries. Through pioneering experiments and innovative procedures the foundry has developed unique techniques which makes it able to produce very technically demanding castings. It is a bronze foundry with tremendous experience and technical capacity. It makes its work invaluable for the many artists who have their work produced at the artistic foundry.
The Mariani foundry works almost exclusively with artistic casting, and collaborates with several international established artists such as Fernando Botero and now deceased Igor Mitoraj. Many Danish artists are producing their work at the foundry too. Established artists such as Peter Brandes, Maja Lisa Engelhardt, Christian Lemmerz, Bjørn Nørgaard, Kirsten Ortwed, and many others, but also younger thriving artists are working with us and Mariani.
The foundry’s close cooperation and dialogue with artists places it at the very front of artistic casting, and it has resulted in many exciting projects over the years. Today the foundry is led and owned by the Agolini family, who took over the foundry through family ties back in the 90s.
MASSIMO GALLENI
Massimo Galleni has a great deal of experience in working with marble carving, and he has been an artisan since 1980. In 1995 he established his own workshop, Massimo Galleni Scultore, where he realizes marble works by hand with a high technical level of expertise. Galleni produces a wide variety of marble elements. From classical and sacred sculptures, portraits, bas/high-relief, garden statues, interior design, decorative elements, and fountains to modern sculptures.
ALDO GALLENI
The copperplate art printing house uses the classical and experimental technique of the chalcographic tradition. Galleni uses a classic press to create fine-art prints by hand.
Engraved metal plates that can vary from zinc to copper, are used to print on on fine cotton papers, such as ZerKal, Hahnemuehle and Magnani.
Galleni has expertise in creating art prints using many different techniques: etching for a clean and graphic rendering, classic aquatint to obtain effects similar to watercolor, sugar aquatint to mark the gestures of the expression, soft wax for a soft expression etc.