Paola GRIZI

• For many years Paola Grizi has produced incredible sculptures of faces that seem to emerge from the pages of books. Whether sculpted in terracotta or cast in bronze, she subtly manipulates the compositions to evoke emotion. These mysterious faces seem to appear from the ether, sometimes casting a meditative gaze and at other times lacking any eyes at all.

• The works of Paola Grizi are highly contemplative. There are many possible interpretations. On one side there is the conceptual and rational sphere (the book); On the opposite the intuitive and tactile part (the face). Communication occurs mainly through emotions and moods rather than being didactic and rational.

• The faces emerge seamlessly from flows of thoughts, that sometimes go in different directions, between the pages full of characters expressed in a language that can be understood intuitively only by the unconscious. The faces, which express the desire for communication, live outside time and space, also thanks to the use of a tenacious and powerful material such as bronze, ultimately leading to the opening of unpublished landscapes of the soul.

• They are tangible books, with visibly engraved characters. Words do not clarify concepts but, on the contrary, if they are studied in a strictly literal sense, they insinuate doubts. The pages of the books appear to get thinner as the “paper” flips and folds to create new dynamic compositions. Interestingly, the focus of Paola Grizi on these literary pieces of art recalls her own passion for the written word—Grizi studied Classics and Italian Literature, even working as a journalist and editor prior to focusing on her art career. Words make you imagine new scenarios, in a story to be discovered. Communication takes place primarily through emotions and moods rather than being didactic and rational.

• Paola Grizi skillfully manipulates her mediums of choice, with her sculptures continually evolving into more complex pieces of architecture. The artwork of Paola Grizi celebrates the artistic creation. Eyes, faces, hands appear through the pages of her bronze book-sculptures, making them alive, and questioning the public about their stories. Inspiration fills the pages with illegible characters keeping the mystery and allowing the dream to go on.

• Paola is an Italian artist born in Rome in 1968.

• Paola Grizi first became interested in art while she was still a child, worked with clay since she was born, mentored by her grandfather who was a famous Italian ceramist, painter and sculptor Rodolfo Ceccaroni, at work. Paola Grizi studied Classics in high school. She earned her degree in Italian Literature with first-class honors in the University of Rome "La Sapienza". After that, Paola Grizi embarked on a career in journalism, at the same time spending time on her art, working heavily with clay. But the desire to express herself artistically is stronger than anything else: Paola wants to shape the earth and manipulate the material. The talented journalist then becomes an artist. In 2003, she deepen her technique with Salavatore Rizzuti, professor of Sculputre of Palermo`s Accademy of fine arts.

• In fact her artistic interest reemerged strongly and was responsible for her choice to dedicate herself to sculpture. Her passion for writing will never cease to occupy her and to mix with the bronze that she works.Here, letters and human nature are intertwined and merged. Through her bronzes Paola gives us her dreams and ambitions, her fears and her nightmares. A hand, a face, a nose emerge from these bronze pages, with indecipherable characters. Are they there to break the mystery of history, to challenge the truths or to keep a secret?

• The Italian artist Paola Grizi focuses her research within the thin line that separates figurative from informal shapes. Inside this area she molds recognizable elements that emerge from abstract shapes.These are a representation of the unconscious, a step forward in understanding the inner world. This duplicity - figurative and informal - finds its meaning in the language, which creates a clear dichotomy through its production. Sometimes the faces emerge from the material are as epiphanies of the consciousness. In Paola Grizi`s terracotta works classical workmanship coexist with informal declination, giving movement to the work as a whole. Just like other works representing infants, her sculptures have to be interpreted as a birth of awareness.

• Paola enjoys international recognition. She has had numerous exhibitions in various Italian cities (Rome, Venice, Faenza, Florence, Milan, Pisa, Ferrara...). Whether in Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, the USA and China, her work is rewarded by numerous prestigious awards.

was chosen by the Pontifical Gregorian University in collaboration with the Kunst-Station of Köln in Germany for a Contemporary art project in the Church of Saint Peter, along with eleven other international artists.

• Awards & Prizes:

2017: Honorable Mention at XXXIX International Ceramic Artwork Competition - City of Gualdo Tadino, Italy

2016: Invited jury of the 36th CICA International Competition de L’Alcora, Spain
2015: Winner of the "CICA 2015 Public`s Prize", at the 35th CICA International Competition de L’Alcora, Museu de Ceramica de L`Alcora, Spain

2015: Chosen artist by the Pontifical Gregorian University in collaboration with the Kunst-Station of Köln for a Contemporary art project in the Church of Saint Peter, along with eleven other international artists, Germany

2015: Invited artist to represent Italy, by the Chinese Chanchun Municipality, in the 4th China Changchun International Ceramics Symposiums

2014: Winner of the "3rd International Biannual Competition of traditional Ceramic" - Ascoli Piceno, Palazzo dei Capitani, Italy

2014: Invited artist to represent Italy, by the Chinese Chanchun Municipality, in the 3rd China Changchun International Ceramics Symposiums

2009: Winner of the special price of critics, La Pergola Arte, Florence, Italy

• Public Collections :

- Museu de Ceramica de L`Alcora (Spain)

- World Sculpture Park of Changchun (China)

- Museum of ceramic art of Ascoli Piceno (Italy)

• Exhibitions :

Art Yī is the exclusive art gallery of Paola Grizi in Brussels, Belgium.

Our latest exhibitions :

2022: "A Moment of Life", group exhibition, Brussels, Belgium

2022: London Art Fair, London, England

2022: "Horizon", group exhibition, Brussels, Belgium

2021: "Face & Paper", group exhibition, Brussels, Belgium

2021: "Timeless", group exhibition, Brussels, Belgium

2021: "Blooming", group exhibition, Brussels, Belgium

2021: "Together", group exhibition, Brussels, Belgium

2019: "Double Jeu", a Les Jardins d`Etretat, France

2019: International competition
2018: “Evocations” de Paola Grizi & Nathalie Deshairs", Lille, France
2017: Liege, Belgium)

2017: Art up! foire d`Art Contemporain, Rouen, France

2018: Honorable Mention at XXXIX International Contest of Ceramic, Gualdo Tadino, Italy
2016: Intravis (t) i, solo exhibition, Associazione Cattolica Artistico

2016: Operaia, Complesso extraterritoriale di San Calisto, Vatican, Rome

2016: Espresso and Cappuccino Cups, Gualdo Tadino, Italy

2016: Espresso and Cappuccino Cups Faenza, Italy

2016: Riflessioni, solo exhibition, Aregoladarte, Rome, Italay

2015: 4th China Changchun International Ceramics Symposium:

permanent exhibition in the “International Gallery” of Changchun (China)

2015: New talents of italian art: sculpture and music

2015: Solo exhibition at “Oratorio del Gonfalone”, Rome, Italy

2014: 3rd China Changchun International Ceramics Symposium:

permanent exhibition in the “World Sculpture Park” of Changchun China

2014: San Giorgio, il Drago e la Principessa, Historical Centre of Ferrara, Italy

2014: Municipality of Ferrara, Italy