Lecture with Alessandra Porfidia
1) Presentation of the Artist: self image
2) In this presentation I will highlight my research in Sculpture, looking at some specific images, profiles and themes. Aim of this speech is to illustrate and touch various aspects emerged along the time. Topics, poetic contents, developments and different qualities embodied in each cycle of the research.
3) The subject of the speech is in the following contents:
4) Key words: Feeling, Creativity, Imagination, Insight, Intuition, Visual, Inner, Outside
5) Perception/Matter/Space
6) Sustainability of the Imagination
7) The teaching approach and presentation of some activities, workshop and worksof the students
8) Talk with the students
Biography
Alessandra Porfidia (Rome 1962)
She graduated in Sculpture (1985) at the Academy of Fine Arts of Rome with a thesis focused on the Henry Moore Sculpture. She met the artist, visiting his studios in Perry Green, England. Since 1995 she has taught in various universities and institutions; the Academies of Fine Arts of Macerata, Carrara, Sassari, Brera-Milan, the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence, where she was the Erasmus coordinator. Currently she is Professor of Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts of Rome.
Her Artist career start in the 1986 with her sculptures presented in numerous professional exhibitions of the “Tridente” and ARGAM Galleries in Rome. In 1988 she was invited by the Rome Municipality to participate at the extensive exhibition “12-35II°” in Campo Boario, where she placed her first cycle of outdoor sculptures in Steel, in dialogue with the industrial architecture of the site.
In 1989 she had her first personal exhibition: “Porfidia Sculptures” at the Medieval Castle of Montecchio Vesponi (AR), with a prestigious presentation by the internationally known critic Lorenza Trucchi. In the same year she exhibited Steel sculptures in Verona: “Idioms of the contemporary sculpture”, Spoleto “Festival of Two Worlds”. In 1995 she received the "Fiumara -Argam Prize for Sculpture”. The year after, was selected among the Professional Italian artists, and invited at the XII Quadrennial of Art "Last generations". With the group of works titled “Theatre of the body”, purchased by the MACRO, Municipal Museum of Contemporary Arts in Rome.
She has had exhibitions, in Europe and Overseas. In Japan she won the “Suntory Prize" in the Osaka Triennale 1998. The winning sculpture “Big Composition” was acquired by the Prefecture of Osaka for the public Museum of Contemporary Fine Arts. In 1999 she held her first personal exhibition in the United States at the "Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens", Palm Beach. In Egypt, she participated at international Biennial Arts 1996, 2000, and then in many collectives until 2008, at the XIth Biennale of Cairo. In France she was invited in the exhibition “Sculptures sous le soleil d'Antibes”, 2000 and she took part in The European Convention on Sculpture in Montauban, 2001 and 2004.
In Italy she has won many Public Art prizes. In 2000 she won the International Pubblic prize "Arte -Metro Roma", for installing a permanent mosaic in Numidio Quadrato underground station (Rome). She created sculptures for several public spaces, including the Palace of Justice in Asti and Frosinone (Italy), the Motorizzazione civile of Rome and the Prison of Viterbo.
In 2004, the artist had a personal exhibition "Talks. Alessandra Porfidia 1994-2004".at the University of Rome 2 Tor Vergata. A wide soloexhibition in the internal and external spaces. She has had presented Large scale sculptures in steel and the sound sculpture: "Lyric Form" (Music of Giorgio Nottoli and Fabio Paolizzo).
Since then that sculpture is installed in the front space of the Rome 2 University, Faculty of Philosophy.
As a member of the International organization Sculpture Network, (based in Germany) and of the International Sculpture Center of USA, and since last year she is also member of the National Museum of Women in the Art, (USA,Washington D.C.). She has been involved in several events, professional meetings, symposiums, exhibitions and forums.
In 2008 her sculptures were included in the European exhibition: "Difference and Diversity" and in 2011 she had presented her work and her thesis about contemporary sculpture on the theme "Sustainability of the Imagination" at the Xth International Forum of sculpture in Bilbao, Guggenheim Museum.
In 2015 - 2016 the artist had exhibitions in Tel Aviv, Rome, Florence at Palazzo Medici Riccardi, in the "Overlooking gardens" exhibition in Versiliana -Pietrasanta, at the Marble and Craft Museum of Carrara. In Rome she had two important exhibitions “Spaces of Light. Alessandra Porfidia between Art and Architecture" in the Edieuropa Gallery and Spazio 400. In the summer she had a third exhibition in Capalbio: "Spaces of Light. Alessandra Porfidia between Art and Nature". In the last years she had collectives and she supposed to have two wides Personal exhibitions before the Pandemic interruption of all the social activities. Her new Steels will be presented next year, in the Historic Museum of the Arts and of the Territory in the ancient Eroli Palace of Narni and in Rome, in the Center for American studies.
Porfidia's Sculptures and Paintings are included in many private and corporate collections.
