Biography
BIOGRAPHY
Clara Fantini was born in Genova and studied in Rome in National Institution Applied Arts in the department of painting.
In 1985 she moved to Kavala, Greece and since 1992 she has presented her work in several solo exhibitions in prestigious venues in Greece (Kavala, Xanthi, Thessaloniki and Hydra), as well as some group exhibitions in Italy (Milan, Spoleto, Pesaro and Rome) and abroad, in places such as London, Shanghai and Munich). Her works have also been exposed in JDA Art Gallery in Wroclaw, Poland.
In 2011, to mark the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy, she donated her work of art ‘’Noi’’ (we) to the Italian Embassy in Athens, – during the term of office of the Ambassador Dr. Trupiano, which was exhibited in the embassy during the celebration of Democracy on 2nd June 2011.
In the same year, she participated in Biennale di Venezia (the Venice Biennale) in "Padiglione Italia nel mondo"- 2011 (the Italian Pavillion in the world - Biennale Venice 2011) after she was selected by the Committee chaired by the art critic, Prof.Vittorio Sgarbi, for her work of art installation ‘’Insieme’’ (together).
“Insieme” was on display from 4th of June until 27th of November (the entire period of Biennale), in the Hall Savinio in the Italian Educational Institution of Thessaloniki. Moreover, “Insieme” was included in the catalogue of the Italian Pavillion in the world “Lo stato dell’Arte-State of the Arts”, curator of which was Vittorio Sgarbi and Francesca Valente.
Fantini says : “ Insieme has a very deep importance of ethic-moral meaning. It represents the human path through the future. A difficult trip, full of obstacles, like the socio-historical period which we are going through. The umbrellas metaphorically represent the symbols of protection of the human values such as solidarity, justice, love and honesty”.
In March in 2013, “Insieme” was donated in the Regional Unit of Kavala where it graces one of her halls.
Her works of art are still in Kavala, in the Town hall, in the Public Library, in the Public Conservatory as well as in private collections.
In 2011, she created the labels on the famous Nikos Lazaridis’ red and white wines named «Magical Mountain» («Magiko Vouno») turning each bottle into a little piece of art which combines flavor and color, scent and graphics. Since 2011, Clara Fantini is a member of the Chamber of Fine Arts in Greece (Ε.Ε.Τ.Ε).
Vittorio Sgarbi comments that Fantini has achieved remarkable results and you can identify her as an abstractionist, with nostalgia of figurative art (figurativism).
AWARDS
In 2014 she received the prize ‘Menzione Speciale Critica’ in Alexander Museum Palace in Pesaro, Italy. Moreover she received the Quadriennal Prize ‘La Palma d’Oro of Art’ (International Critic Commission of Antexpo Gallery) in Montecarlo, France
PERSONAL EXHIBITIONS
1995 Kavala: Municipal Gallery "Kapnergati"
1997 Kavala: Municipal Gallery "Kapnergati"
1998 Xanthi: Municipal Gallery
2008 Kavala: Municipal Gallery
2009 Thessaloniki: Italian Educational Institution
2009 Abdira Xanthi: Estate Vourvoukeli "OPEN THE GATES AT THE WINERIES OF NORTHERN GREECE "
2011 Thessaloniki: Italian Educational Institution "ITALIAN PAVILLION OF THE WORLD " BIENNALE VENICE 2011
2012 Kavala: Hall Exhibition at the Mall (Under the patronage of the Italian Institute of Culture in Thessaloniki)
2013 Thessaloniki: Hall Exhibition F.A.A.T.
2013 Hydra: Municipal Gallery "Melina Merkouri " (Under the patronage of the Italian Institute of Culture in Athens)
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1996 Kavala: Municipal Gallery "Kapnergati
1999 Kavala: "ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΤΙΚΟΣ ΜΑΗΣ " - Municipal Gallery "Kapnergati "
1999 Nea Karvali (Akontisma): "ΜΕΡΕΣ ΛΟΓΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΤΕΧΝΗ "
2000 Kavala: "CULTURAL MAY " Municipal Gallery "Kapnergati "
2000 Kavala: (Imaret): "CULTURAL NIGHT IN KAVALA "
2001 Kavala: "JOURNEY " Municipal Gallery "Kapnergati "
2003 Thessaloniki: MILOS - "EGNATIA 2003 "
2007 Kavala: "GENIUS LOCI " - Municipality of Kavala - Municipal Gallery "Kapnergati "
2009 Nea Karvali (Akontisma): "DAYS OF SPEECH AND ART "
2010 Kavala: "ART FLAME " - Municipal Gallery "Kapnergati"
2010 Kavala: "ΚAVALA EXPO 2010 " Kavala’s Chamber of Commerce -Exhibition Hall in Nea Karvali
2013: Thessaloniki : REMEZZO Gallery (Alzheimer- Hellas")
2013 Athens: Art Space Deliolanis .
2013 Milan: " MILAN ART & EVENTS " (Present contemporary art)
2013 London: Royal Opera Arcade Gallery "EGOS V EDITION"
2013 Shanghai: Group exhibition of the Members of the Chamber of Fine Arts in Greece (E.E.T.E.) (In collaboration with theFederation of Arts and Letters , Association of Fine Artists of Shanghai, the Organization for International Cultural Relations Shanghai and with the support of the Consulate General of Greece in Shanghai.
2014: Monaco di Baviera: - Domagk Ateliers, Halle : "Artitaly&Artworld"
2014 Spoleto: "SPOLETO ARTE", curated by Prof. Vittorio Sgarbi
2014: Roma: University eCampus "Italy - Greece: one face, one race -: Artistic avant-garde and tradition’’ Under the patronage of the office of the European Commission, the Embassy of Greece and of the Council of Hellenes Abroad.
2014: Pesaro: Alexander Museum Palace "Art Exp 2014" 1ˆ exhibition of contemporary art.
AWARDS
2014: Pesaro: PRIZE ‘SPECIAL MENTION OF CRITICISM’ in Alexander Museum Palace in Pesaro, Italy. 1ˆ exhibition of contemporary art.
2014: Montecarlo: Quadriennal Prize ‘La Palma d’Oro of Art’ (International Critic Commission of Antexpo Gallery).
CRITICAL REVIEW
Clara Fantini has always painted a rapid way of watching and talking about the human relationships that she observes like brought to the window of the world, both the streets of the city where she walks, or the gardens where she has grown, or in the houses of the people she loves. This work spreads from the desire to share stories at indeterminate time: her painting developed most recently has encouraged the alteration of the images, the cancellation, and the revisitation of the stylized figures. like in a metamorphosis Clara proposes a bond of her story that in this process lives and operates among friends and relatives or only among somebody she doesn't know, who she maybe brushes by walking along the street by chance, and with the simplicity of the instruments she uses, she seems to break time and find her path in the spaces of this century and of this place. She reacts to the tactility of the materials with her hand, to the physicality of big spaces and to the spiritual and sensual nature of the intentions combined with her artistic duty in life. In her colors a wide variety of emotions ... the sound of alive and the heartbeat of the people in the close proximity. She looks for the shade of the theme, beauty and the determination of daily life, and the meaning of time accumulating, altering and becoming vision. As the Artist explains: ”A deep value of ethical-moral meaning. I illustrate the human path towards future. A difficult and full of obstacles voyage, like the historical-social period we are living. I metaphorically describe the umbrellas like symbols of protection and safeguard of the human values of solidarity, justice, love, honesty " An oil that is a labyrinth on painting, the unstable space-filling grid is composed of long twists and turns of pink-dark red and violet-blue with a tangled mosaic pattern and that punctuates the remaining space in explosions of astonishing color: shiny green, English Indian, brown, black and red. Her abstract art is pure energy, emotion and sensation. It isn't based on things that we physically know however recognizable, but plays with the immaterial, the intangible in the difficult game to shape to what hasn't a shape. It connects "shapeless" paths of color and energy with the human figure to symbolize a threshold between human and the essence. A point of contact with a more immaterial reality. The essence or spiritual is made of vibration, energy, light, color. The natural world is the shape and matter, the size and volume. The idea of creating a dance between the spiritual and the natural world has always been a strong call for Fantini. At the centre of her artistic research a technique that has well served this ideal of hers.
Maria Grazia Todaro (Art critic and art director)
