Pietrasanta, an exhibition to pay tribute to Girolamo Ciulla

From June 22 to Aug. 10, Pietrasanta ’s Susanna Orlando Gallery is hosting a solo exhibition dedicated to Sicilian sculptor Jerome Ciulla, who passed away in December 2023. Entitled Respiri oltre il tempo. L’amuri è comu u ventu, nun si po vìdiri, ma si po sentiri, the exhibition pays tribute to an artist who left an indelible mark on the world of sculpture. The subtitle, which means “Love is like the wind, you cannot see it, but you can feel it,” expresses the persistence of works of art over time, a concept that recalls ancient Horatian assumptions and is typical of Ciulla’s art. Moreover, curator Antonio D’Amico, director of the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum in Milan, explains that, as with Horace, Ciulla’s work will continue to speak for itself, perpetuating the artist’s presence.

The exhibition presents a selection of works covering a time span from the 1990s to the 2000s, including travertine sculptures and drawings. Among the works on display are some well-known works that propose themes typical of Ciulla’s production, such as Stele with Crocodile, Aphrodite or New Moon in Agrigento. These creations, together with several compositions on paper, offer an exhibition itinerary that celebrates Ciulla’s creativity and authentic Sicilianity.

Susanna Orlando, together with Antonio D’Amico, curated the exhibition set-up: the works are placed on ancient woods and unusual bases, creating an environment that is meant to make the public perceive the “salvific scent” of Ciulla’s works, as if they had just been placed by the artist himself. “I am happy to have received the invitation from Susanna, a woman whose smile and kindness have always struck me, characteristics that are rare in today’s society, qualities that bring me back to the beauty and eternity of art, the strong value of which I came to know in the relationship that bound me to Jerome Ciulla,” says Antonio D’Amico. “As a Sicilian, I loved the myth told with simplicity and elegance that Ciulla knew how to make plastic and dreamy material. In front of Girolamo’s works, I have always wondered how he was able to shape a material as heavy as marble while making it appear so light, and only today, beyond the time of his person, do I understand why he loved to walk in solitude in his Pietrasanta and always advised me to go and see the marble quarries where Michelangelo extracted his marble.” In addition, a meeting dedicated to Jerome Ciulla will be held on July 10 as part of the summer festival “Pietrasanta Cult.”

The life and career of Jerome Ciulla

Born in Caltanissetta in 1952, Jerome Ciulla moved to Pietrasanta in the 1980s, where he established strong ties with the local art community and received honorary citizenship. A friend of great artists such as Botero and Mitoraj, Ciulla exhibited in numerous cities including London, Paris, Prague and Seoul. He participated in the 2011 Venice Biennale and created monumental works for several Italian piazzas.

His sculptures are housed in major museums, including the Omero Museum in Ancona, the Ragghianti Foundation in Lucca, the Vittoriale degli Italiani, and the Oya Museum in Japan. They have written about him, among others: Alberto Agazzani, Franco Basile, Anna Caterina Bellati, Massimo Bertozzi, Arnaldo Romano Brizzi, Beatrice Buscaroli, Luciano Caprile, Lucio Cabutti, Vladek Cwalinski, Mario De Micheli, Marco Di Capua, Giorgio Di Genova, Francesco Gallo, Mario Gerosa, Ferruccio Giromini, Marco Goldin, Sebastiano Grasso, Nicola Micieli, Marilena Pasquali, Alessandro Riva, Alessandro Romanini, Piercarlo Santini, Maurizio Sciaccaluga, Luigi Serravalli, Vittorio Sgarbi, and Giorgio Soavi.

Pietrasanta, an exhibition to pay tribute to Girolamo Ciulla

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