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Gianluca Franzese is an Italian-born American artist who currently lives and works in San Francisco. The son of a jewelry maker and a pupil of the old masters of Italian art, he started painting early on, moving through realist, expressive, and narrative styles. With a background in decorative painting, his style has evolved to blend continuous patterns of color with dynamic metal reflections, with meticulous attention to detail and dedication to flawlessness. Each painting plays with the viewer’s perspective, illuminating the spaces in which they reside. In his own words, Franzese’s art “reflects my belief that beauty is a process that happens over time, with a focus on underlying patterns and geometries found in nature. The metallic elements in the pieces are sensitive to the temperature of the environment, expressing a particular temperament based on context. This responsive variable means that the work is always unique to the time and place in which it is viewed.” His works have been exhibited in San Francisco, Miami, New York and Florence, and are in many private collections, notably Tiffany & Co. in Milan, Italy.

Marietta Patricia Leis is an Italian-American visual artist from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She works in several media including painting, photography, sculpture and video. Leis received a BA and MA in psychology from Antioch College, Los Angeles and her MA/MFA in studio art from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

[Insights 2, by Marietta Patrica Leis, 2014]

Insights 2, Marietta Patrica Leis, 2014

Leis’ art is concerned with the preservation of our planet. Her art, regardless of medium, resonates with the beauty of our natural environment. ‘Color of place’ is an element that she enlists to create a visceral recording of her travels. Her work can be found in many public collections among them: The Albuquerque Art Museum, NM; Harwood Museum, Taos, NM; University Art Gallery, NM State University, Las Cruces; New Mexico State Library, Santa Fe, the Holtze Hotel, Denver; the University of New Mexico Division of Continuing Education; Ross Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio and the State Capitol Building, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her work in the public sector includes commissioned work and 1% for the Arts competitions. Leis’ extensive exhibition record as well as collections that she is in, awards that she has received and lectures that she has given is documented in Who’s Who In American Art (31st Edition). The late New York Times contributing art critic, William Zimmer, called Leis’ reductive paintings “sublime”. In regard to her own philosophy regarding her work Leis states, “The aim of my art is to represent not the outward appearance of things but their inward significance.”

First generation Italian-American sculptor Giuseppe Palumbo is the son of a professional artist from Italy. He has studied at the Art Students League in Denver, The Loveland Academy of Fine Art and the Scottsdale Artists School, as well as in San Miguel Allende, Mexico and Pietrasanta, Italy. Palumbo has spent a lifetime creating, designing and building, from architecture to furniture and jewelry. He has been sculpting since 1992.

[Hog Heaven, by Giuseppe Palumbo, 2014]

Hog Heaven, Giuseppe Palumbo, 2014

Palumbo’s textural, figurative bronze sculptures somehow contemporaneously communicate fantasy, humor, depth and meaning. In the form of dancing sheep, meditating bulls, flying pigs, walking seashells and little men balancing on a ledge, Palumbo gives shape to human emotions as well as to social and political perspectives. Palumbo states that his objective is “not to create a replica of the living, but to capture the essence of a being, not a frozen pose, but a sculpture alive in texture, spirit and warmth. My objective is to communicate in a language that words don’t convey. If my work moves the viewer, stirs their soul, is a reflection of our times, or pleases the aesthetic, then I have achieved my goal. My chapter in the story of the sculpture is short; once I’m finished with the piece it then becomes an endless tale as each viewer relives and creates their own story.” He maintains studios in Berkeley, CA and Eldorado Springs, CO and his work has been exhibited in many important shows throughout the US. Palumbo’s whimsical sculptures can be found in many public and private collections throughout the US and the world, including Queen Rania of Jordan’s private collection.