Exhibitions
Biography
Andrea Sole Costa
Italian–Argentinian Artist:
Andrea Sole Costa was born in Buenos Aires in Argentina. She is the second daughter of a
mother from Piedmont Italy and a Catalan Spain father. She spent the summers of her youth in the idyllic
setting of the Pampas, along with many others of Italian origin. This was in direct contrast with her
adolescence where she lived under the ominous shadow of the dictator, Videla.
In Buenos Aires she received her diploma and then went on to receive an additional diploma from the Ceramics School
of "F. Arranz" and a degree from Escuela de Bellas Artes "P. Pueyrredon".
She married Fernando Schapira, her school
companion and after they received their degrees, they took a boat to Europe to view
the masterpieces of Western Art at first hand.
They saw paintings, sculptures, and architecture, all in their original settings. The trip became a journey through museums
that lasted nine months. They went from Barcellona to Athens and from Oslo to Florence and had a long stay in Paris.
They were warmly welcomed by a young Florentine couple who hosted them in their home when they were in Florence.
This was the beginning of an extended stay in Florence that has lasted thirty years.
Andrea Sole Costa received her master’s degree in restoration and painting techniques from the "Institute of Arte"
and "Palazzo Spinelli". She started work in 1988 teaching painting techniques to foreign students at a private art studio.
In 1989, she started teaching courses for D.L.F. and founded her own school in 2000 at the former Leopolda Train Station
in Florence. In 2014, she will celebrate twenty–five years of teaching art.
Teaching has stimulated her to explore numerous
techniques and every kind of subject. For her own work, the human figure and portraits remain her principal interest.
The choreographer Alberto Canestro asked Sole Costa to work on the scenography and costumes for one of his dances.
This led to the large paintings and the research on different master artists from the past.
Sole Costa and a group of her
advanced students had previously worked together in a course on the reinterpretation of masterpieces which she called
"Falsi d’autore" (Fakes of the Artists). The course required the students to choose a masterpiece and then set up the
composition from the painting using live models. This was photographed and then used as the basis for a modern interpretation
of the original work. One of the paintings that Sole Costa herself worked on was the "Allegory of Venus and Cupid" by Bronzino.
It is currently in an exhibition in Miami at the Rimonim Art Gallery which represents the artist.
She has also done
reinterpretations of works by Titian, Durer, Guido Reni and Botticelli.
The course led Sole Costa to reconsider the value of realistic painting. She believes that the conflict that is often
debated over technique and representation in painting and photography does not truly exist. She feels that the two mediums
have two different ways of viewing reality. A painter, unlike a photographer, must know and understand anatomy.
They must be able to reproduce the tactile quality of any material, be it skin, metal, cloth, fur or whatever else they
are presented with. Drawing and painting use very different techniques and time frames than photography and inevitably
the reality they present is different from that of photography. Such issues as the juxtaposition of colors and brushwork
are fundamental to painting. Brushwork is the main gesture that an artist uses in painting. It shows the actual rhythm of
the work and furthermore becomes the means by which we can identify a particular artist.
by Francesco Schapira
Exhibitions
PRINCIPALI MOSTRE PERSONALI
1987: Galleria L’UPUPA, Associazione Culturale, Firenze.
1989: "Oltre Frontiera", Casa della Cultura, Consolato Argentino,Roma.
1990: Galleria d'arte Moderna "La Soffitta", Sesto F.no, Firenze.
1991: "La Donna", Spazio Uno, Firenze.
1992: "Tra realtà e fantasia", Biblioteca Pubblica, Sesto F.no, Firenze.
1993: Ditta WEKA a Kissing, Ausburg, Germania
1994: "Vibrazioni e sensazioni", Galleria dell'Antica Compagnia del Paiolo, Firenze.
1995: Fondation Argentine presso la Cité Universitaire, Parigi, Francia.
1998: "Immersione", Dolce Vita, Firenze.
2000: "Aprilarte", Villa Montalvo, Campi Bisenzio, Firenze.
2001: "NUDI E CRUDI", Villa San Lorenzo, Sesto F.no, Firenze.
2002: "SOTT’ACQUA", Casa del Guidi, Consiglio di Circolo, Sesto F.no, Firenze.
2003: "Acqua e nudi", AUEL, Parterre, Firenze.
2006: "TUTIFRUTI", Villa San Lorenzo, Consiglio di Circolo, Sesto F.no, Italia
2007: Misericordia di Sesto Fiorentino
2012: "Momenti", Circuiti Dinamici, Milano
2013: "Cuerpos" La Specola, Museo di Storia Naturale, Firenze.
2014: "Arte puro–puro Arte", Sala Barducci, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Firenze.
PRINCIPALI MOSTRE COLLETIVE
1987: Premio Nazionale di Pittura "Giuseppe Pecceti", Sesto F.no (FI), 3º premio.
1988: Mostra dei progetti per un murales per l'Ufficio Informa Giovani, Firenze.
1989: Premio Nazionale di Pittura "Giuseppe Peccetti", Sesto F.no (FI), 1º premio.
Premio Italia per Arti Visive "Beato Angelico". Segnalazione.
1990: "Bring us Together", Sala Presidenziale Stazione Centrale FFSS di Milano.
1992: "Arte nel Mondo", Palazzo Pretorio, Sesto F.no (FI).
1993 "UNO per UNO" California State University e Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze, Galleria Via Larga, (FI), rappresentando la Scuola Libera del Nudo.
1994: "Segnalibro" presso Galleria d’arte Moderna "La Soffitta", Sesto F.no (FI).
1999: "I luoghi di Caruso", omaggio al concittadino E. Caruso, Villa Gisella, FI.
2001: "Città di Firenze" Palazzina Presidenziale, S.ta Maria Novella. nell’ambito del 75º anniversario del D.L.F. Progetto di A. Sole Costa.
Omaggio a Caruso presso la Limonaia di Villa Strozzi, FI.
2002: "Città di Firenze" II edizione, galleria "Via Larga",FI. Progetto di A. Sole Costa.
2003: "ARTECIBOARTE" Spedale del Bigallo, Bagno a Ripoli. Progetto di A. Sole Costa.
"Plein air a Villa Demidoff", Pratolino e Galleria Via Larga.Progetto di A. Sole Costa.
2004:"Fiori", Tepidario del Roster, Giardino dell’Orticoltura, FI. Progetto di A. Sole Costa.
2005: "Liberazione", Villa San Lorenzo, Sesto F.no, Firenze.
2006: "Io, tu e lui–Ritratti?" Palagio di Parte Guelfa, Firenze. Progetto di A. Sole Costa.
2007: "Agua", Villa San Lorenzo, Sesto Fiorentino, FI. Progetto di A. Sole Costa.
2008: "Donne" presso Villa San Lorenzo, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze.
2009: "Falsi d’autore", Sala A.N.R.A.C., Firenze. Progetto di A. Sole Costa.
"Omaggio a G. Fattori" presso Centro espositivo A. Berti, Sesto Fiorentino, FI
"Futurismi presenti" presso Centro espositivo A. Berti, Sesto Fiorentino, FI
2011: "Panni stesi" Istallazione multipersonale presso Galleria Via Larga, Firenze. Progetto di A. Sole Costa.
2012: "Lo sguardo Collettivo", Present Contemporany Art, FI. Progetto di A. Sole Costa.
"Sensorial Prospectives" presso Agora Gallery, New York
2013 Finalista del premio Florence–Shanghai Prize della Present Contemporary Art
-Florence Biennale, Biennale Internazionale d’Arte Contemporanea.
Finalista nel Premio di tutte le Arti, Sala d’Armi di Palazzo Vecchio, FI
2014: Art Wynwood Fair rappresentata dalla Rimonim Art Gallery, Miami, U.S.A.
"Couple" Rimonim Art Gallery, Miami, U.S.A.
"Fiorgen Arte Lucca", Palazzo Guinigi, Lucca.
"Senso senza senso", Sala del Basolato, Fiesole.
Finalista nel Premio di tutte le Arti, Sala della Musica ex Tribunale, FI
2015: Art Palm Beach rappresentata dalla Rimonim Art Gallery, Miami, U.S.A