THE MASTER ARTIST PIETRA BARRASSO - ART STUDIES
• 1963 – Pietra was born in Venticano, a delightful village near to Avellino.
She was attracted by art from a very young age and, in 1977, she established herself withher first large paintings. In 1980 she concluded an experimental three-year course at the“Paolo Anania De Luca” art school in Avellino, from which she graduated with a diploma asa Master Artist. She followed this with a two-year course in photography and advertisinggraphics and gained a diploma with the maximum votes.
• 1983 – she began to frequent the fine arts academy in Naples,
where she followed thepainting course, conducted masterfully by Armando De Stefano who, in turn, had been apupil of Emilio Notte. In this context she developed great painterly abilities of a figurativekind which were to be greatly appreciated by the teachers she frequented.
• 1984 – she broadened her art training with a study of the restoration of paintings oncanvas,
a course run by the authority for environmental, architectural, artistic and historicalassets in Salerno and Avellino, directed by Giovanni Muollo. For its relevance, thisexperience was to be the beginning of an important series of public and privatecommissions.
• 1992 – she became part of circles of internationally famous artists,
from Pietro Annigonito Robert Carroll, Pericle Fazzini, José Ortega, Aligi Sassu, Gregorio Sciltian, OrfeoTamburi, and Ernesto Treccani. These were all precious experiences that allowed her tonotably improve her artistic development. In particular, it was Aligi Sassu who was to beher tutor, thanks to a cordial friendship that developed during their professionalrelationship.
• 1992 – she moved from the Irpinia region to Rome where the art critics suggested shechange her name from Pierina to Pietra.
• 1994 – she met Antonio Corpora whose pupil she became in order to refine her paintingtechnique.
In fact the subsequent refinement of her technique soon led her to produceworks that, for the luminous magic of their colours, caused her to be given the nickname“the master of light”.
• 2005 – she joined the register of advertising journalists for the Campania region andthen, in 2005, in that of the Lazio region.
• 2012 – in Campidogio, the Italian lower chamber, she was awarded the first prize as“European Personality”.
• 2013 – she became part of Metaformismo©,
a new historical-artistic vision ofcontemporary non-figuration, conceived of and theorized by Giulia Sillato, an art historianin the mould of Longhi, who from then on would invite Pietra to participate in many of herexhibitions.
Destined to revolutionise the critical horizons of the future, this new visual orientationproposes to analyse and interpret non-figurative expressions with the most simple key toanalysis: form. In fact the author, after some twenty years of studies, has concluded thatso-called “abstract” works lack legible figures (and for this reason they are abstract), butthey do not lack forms and these must be completely pinpointed and analysed.
COMMISSIONS – JURIES – COLLABORATIONS – COLLECTIONS
• 1985
Campania Region – she created 22 paintings in ink and watercolour with the typicallandscapes of each region of Italy of which the presidents were in Naples for the nationalmeeting in Palazzo Reale.The municipalities of the Campania Region and the Puglia Region – she creatednumerous painted panels, commissioned by the municipalities of Campania and Puglia.Leep Record – she painted sketches for the cover of the Disco della Pace, The Record forPeace, with the title of “Pronto Mosca … pronto Washington”.
• 1986
Town Council Juries – as an art expert, she has taken part in numerous juries for artcompetitions in the provinces of Naples and Avellino.
• 1992
Idea, a monthly cultural and political magazine – she was given the responsibility ofcurating the graphics for the new magazine run by Giuseppe Selvaggi, a parliamentaryjournalist, a role she was to cover until 2003.Gangemi Editore – she collaborated with this publisher - inventing projects for bookcovers, designing stories, and ideating the series “Colore & Pietra” – until 2003.
• 1994
Stabilimenti Tipografici Carlo Colombo – better known as the Colombo printing press ofthe Chamber of Deputies; it entrusted the painter with the graphic project for the Braillecode and the velarium of Montecitorio.
• 1997
Corriere di Roma, L’Opinione, Irpinia Oggi – she collaborated with these newspapersfor two years. During this period she came to know Mario Verdone, cinema critic, essayist,and art lover.
• 1999
Galleria Comunale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, today’s MACRO – she wasgiven the three-year assignment of taking care of art publishing.
• 2002
Museo di Roma in Palazzo Braschi and Museo di Roma in Trastevere – she was giventhe biennial assignment of taking care of art publishing.
• 2005
Villa Borghese gallery and the Roman museum centre – she was concerned with theirart publishing.
• 2014
The Carabinieri corps – two paintings made by her (“Bicentenario dei Carabinieri [1814 –2014]”, and “130 Anniversario dell’Associazione Nazionale Carabinieri [1886 – 2016]”)became part of the corps’ national heritage.
• 2015
Avellino Chamber of Commerce – she painted two panels for the Guide to the cities ofIrpinia on the occasion of EXPO MILANO 2015.
• 2016
Capitoline museums – for the Jubilee of Pope Francis, and as a one-off occasion, sheexhibited the painting “La Misericordia nell’Arte”.
PRIZES
• 2012
Bronze medal, the Chamber of Deputies, Rome.Palm Art Award, Leipzig.
• 2014
Premio Adrenalina, MACRO, Roma.
• 2012
Palm Art Award, Leipzig.Rappresentanza Prize, Ministerial Department for Cultural Assets and Activities, Rome.
WORLD MAP OF HER PAINTINGS
• National Exhibitions
Potenza, Rome, Spoleto, Assisi, Perugia, Arezzo, Volterra, Carrara, Forte deiMarmi, Lucca, Florence, Bologna, Savona, Genoa, Turin, Biella, Monza, Milan, Bergamo,Brescia, Verona, Trento.
• International Exibitions
Montecarlo, Nice, Aix en Provence, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Stuttgart,Munich, Berlin, Brussels, Luxembourg, Bruges, Amsterdam, London, Dublin,Basel, Lugano, Reinach, Vienna, Warsaw, Bratislava, Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Malta,Los Angeles, Chicago, Springfied, Worcester, Cambridge, Boston, New York, Beijing,Tokyo.
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CATALOGUES
• Various Years: Catalogo dell’Arte Moderna, Editoriale Giorgio Mondadori
• 2003
TREC INTERNATIONAL Treccani Edizioni di pregioPietra Barrasso with Annigoni, Fazzini, Ortega, Sciltian, and Treccani.
• 2013
Il Metaformismo© by Giulia Sillato - Mazzotta EditorePalazzo del Capitano and Castello Scaligero, Malcesine sul Garda.
• 2014
Imagine 2014 by Giammarco Puntelli - Editoriale Giorgio Mondadori
Biblioteca Umanistica dell’Incoronata, Milan - Archivio Pria, Biella
Rotta a Nord Est by Giammarco Puntelli - Editoriale Giorgio Mondadori Pescheria Nuova, Rovigo - Museo d’Arte Moderna “Ugo Carà”, Muggia
Il Metaformismo© by Giulia Sillato - Editoriale Giorgio Mondadori Chiostro del Bramante, Rome.
Il Metaformismo© by Giulia Sillato - Mazzotta EditoreCasa Museo Ivan Bruschi, Arezzo.
• 2015
L’Arte e il Tempo© by Giulia Sillato - Editoriale Giorgio Mondadori Artistic direction by Giulia Sillato and Giammarco Puntelli.
EXPO IN CITTÀ 2015, Palazzo dei Giureconsulti, Milan.
• 2017
Il Metaformismo© by Giulia Sillato - Fondazione Giulia Sillato Rocca Paolina, Perugia.
• 2018
Il Metaformismo© by Giulia Sillato - Fondazione Giulia SillatoCasa dei Carraresi, Treviso
• 2019
Il Metaformismo© by Giulia Sillato - Fondazione Giulia Sillato Casa del Mantegna, Mantua.
The MetaFormismo© by Giulia Sillato - Giulia Sillato Foundation Biljarda Njegoš Museum, Cetinje.
Il Metaformismo© by Giulia Sillato - Fondazione Giulia Sillato Matera 2019 European Capital of Culture, former San Rocco hospital.
CRITICS
(in alphabetical order)
• Ferloni Mara
• Sgarbi Vittorio
EXHIBITIONS FROM 1984 TO TODAY
(in reverse chronological order)
• 2019
° Matera 2019 European Capital of Culture, former San Rocco hospital.
° Cetinje, Njegoševa Biljarda National Museum of Montenegro
° Rome, Biblioteca Casanantense
° Mantua, Casa del Mantegna
• 2018
° Milan, rooms of the Istituto Auxologico Procaccini
° Treviso, Casa dei Carraresi
° Florence, OnArt Gallery
• 2017
° Rome, Avvocatura Generale dello Stato, Sala Vanvitelli
° Rome, room of the European commission in Italy
° Naples, room of Palazzo delle Poste
° Perugia, Rocca Paolina
• 2016
° Venice, Palazzo Donà dalle Rose
° Gravedona ed Uniti, Palazzo Gallio
° Rome, the apse of the church of San Lorenzo in Lucina
• 2015
° Assisi, Palazzo del Comune, the loggias
° Besane in Brianza, Villa Filippini, Padiglione Neoclassico (Pietra Barrasso and Aligi Sassu)
° Crotone, Castello di San Severina
° Volterra, Palazzo Pretorio, the loggias° Milan, Palazzo dei Giureconsulti
° Fratta Polesine, Villa Badoer° Rome, room of the Promoteca in Campidoglio
° Rome, Palazzo Ferrajoli
• 2014
° Verona, Palazzo Castellani di Sermeti
° Arezzo, Casa Museo Ivan Bruschi
° Rome, library of the Chamber of Deputies
° Rovigo, Pescheria Nuova
° Rome, Bramante cloister
° Florence, Simboli Art Gallery
° Milan, Biblioteca Umanistica dell’Incoronata
° Biella, Archivio Pria
° Muggia, the “Ugo Carà” modern art museum
° Spoleto, Palazzo Laurenti
° Assisi, Palazzo Bernabei
° Savona, headquarters of the provincial government
° Milan, Palazzo Isimbardi, headquarters of the Milan provincial government
• 2013
° Malcesine sul Garda, Palazzo del Capitano and Castello Scaligero
° Rome, Museo Montemartini
° Florence, Museo Antiquario Luigi Bellini
° Trento, Palazzo della Ragione
° Rome, Museo del Mare e della Navigazione Antica in the Santa Severa Castle
° Montreal, Galerie Espace
° Montreal, Galerie Espace
° Milan, Centro Artistico Zona K
° Brescia, rooms of the Post-spazialista group
° Rome, rooms of the Babuino auction house
° Hangzou, West Lake Art Fair
° Arezzo, ArtExpo
° Rome, Palazzo Valentini, the Rome provincial government
° Pontremoli, rooms of the Premio Bancarella
° Orvieto, room of the Fondazione Città di Orvieto
° Carrara, Fiera d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea° New York, Agora Gallery in Chelsea
° Potenza, Pinacoteca Civica
• 2011
° Venice, 54th Biennale – Italian pavilion Viterbo, Palazzo degli Alessandri
° Pietrasanta, Studio Spartaco Palla
• 2010
° Rome, hall of the Banca d’Italia
° Reinach, Bilderausstellung ACLI
• 2009
° Moscow, House of the Artists
° Saint Petersburg, Artists’ Union Centre
• 2000
° Basel, Madrid, New York, Internazionale d’Arte Contemporanea
• 1999
° Monterosso Calabro, Biennale d’Arte Contemporanea° Rome, Studio del Canova
• 1998
° Scilla, Castello Ruffo
• 1996
° Fiuggi, Sala della Fonte
• 1995
° Cambridge, Massachusetts, rooms of the Dante Alighieri Society
° Worcester, Massachusetts, Italian American Cultural Center
° Springfied, Massachusetts, Museum Modern Art° Boston, First Expressions Gallery
° Rome, Canova’s studio
• 1994
° Rome, Galleria Alfieri
° Rome, Galleria della Tartaruga
° Cosenza, City Library
° Cosenza, City Library
° Rome, editorial room of Idea magazine
• 1992
° Stockholm, Malar Galleriet
• 1991
° Avellino, Palazzo De Peruta
• 1990
° Reinach, Bilderausstellung ACLI
• 1989
° Benevento, rooms of the Ente Provinciale del Turismo
• 1988
° Capri, city cloister
• 1984
° Rimini, Galleria Malatestiana
° Ferrara, Castello Estense
° Avellino, rooms of the press society
° Benevento, Centro d’Arte Oasi