Raffaele Rossi
Was born at Alba (Cuneo) on 20 May 1956.
In 1975, after studyng at the Liceo artistico, Novara, greatly attracted by classical Venetian painting, he moved to Mogliano Veneto (Treviso), where he lived for a several years and held his first solo show in the galleria La Fenice in 1978. At this time he attended courses at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica (engraving) and the Scuola Libera del Nudo in Venezia.
In the 1980’s he produced a series of work on paper , “The Mercury of Sages “ with an exhibition in Bologna in 1989. Having started from the legacy of abstract painting, he began to work with impastos of various materials (plaster and glue,often with metals) poured onto or thickened on wooden supports. At a later stage he tended to reduce the dense abundant matter to rarefied veils and transparent colors.
To pursue further his interest in classical painting techniques, he trained in the workshops of two Venetian painters Valeria Rambelli and Ottone Marabini. From them he learned how to grind and prime paints with egg tempera and oil as well as prepare panels and canvases. On the strenght of this experience, he continued to research classical media and began to use them in new ways.
Experimenting with frescos, he became particulary interested in plasters and the physical matter of surfices. This led to his current focus on richly layered surfaces made with special inerts, such as marble dust, sand and natural glues.
His works are permanently exhibited in international galleries and collections : the Galleria d’Arte Moderna in the Palazzo Sarcinelli, Conegliano (Treviso); the Museo dello Splendore, Giulianova (Teramo); Credit Suisse, Hong Kong; the JuliusBaar Bank,Hong Kong; the Sarasin&Cie Ag Bank, Hong Kong; and the fresco room in the “Son Apau”, Azahar Jardinaria Y Riegos, Palma de Mallorca; Spain. A few Murales on Fresco are painted i Tierra Garzon, Fundacion Pablo Atchugarry; Uruguay.