FLAVIUS PISAPIA

FLAVIUS PISAPIA Biography

Flavius Valone Pisapia is an Italian-Romanian artist born in Bucharest, in 1981. He completed his higher education in the UK, with an MA in Transpersonal Arts & Therapy, England, 2014, a Diploma in Transformative Arts, England, 2011 and a BA (Hons) in Film and Video, England and Wales, 2005. Pisapia studied sculpture throughout his higher education and appreciated several sculptor mentors in the UK. Since 2016, Pisapia resides in India, where is is currently an artist in residence at Studio Sukriti in Jaipur. He has had several Solo exhibitions in India. His artwork is found in private collections worldwide.

FLAVIUS PISAPIA Statement

"The forms and processes found in nature, and their influence on life stories, inspire my work. Since my early childhood, I have moved home and country, collecting impressions of organic forms, which find their way into my art. From the subtle curve of an animal's back to the billowing waves of a hillside, part living creature and part elemental nature, my work often morphs elements together, giving life to mythological trees, sea-waves with human heads, singing spirals, and half-leaf, half-human reclining forms. As a sculptor, I try to bring into dialogue the personal narratives and the perceptions of nature I experience in a reflection on selfhood and environment.

We are shaped by the nature of the objects in our environment; the place we live can strongly influence how we see ourselves and how we interact with our surroundings. As a child growing up in the countryside, I was accustomed to finding only handmade things at home, from embroidered quilts and leather shoes to the soap we used. The slow-paced lifestyle in a family and village of craftsmen led me to my hands-on and nature-inspired approach to art.
In past work as a sculpture therapist, I watched as clients recreated their self-image simply by modelling clay with their hands into spheres or cubes, working against the resistance of matter to make it their own, thereby integrating a newfound sense of self with their present life. I learned that stories shape us, but by working with our hands, we might reshape them. Reshaping the organic world into something fresh and equally "living" can be an empowering and very personal experience.

The stories, moods, images, and memories from long walks, photographs, and observations often carry with them traces of the down-to-earth people I grew up with. In particular, the vitality, humour, and strength.

Working with different materials, I extract pure form elements such as convexes and concaves from figures and objects, freeing them from the prior associations and meaning. A flower or leaf becomes a source of surfaces varying in shape and movement which can combine to create something new. With a rounded starting point, I add on a variety of disparate angles, diverse curves, and twisting planes. I carve and smooth the surfaces, bringing out particular tensions and transitions. The sculptural objects I create give spaces for the viewer to imagine their own worlds and create their meaning.

From the introduction of Metamorphosis by J. W. Goethe, it reads, “He came to see in the leaf the germ of a plant's metamorphosis—“the true Proteus who can hide or reveal himself in all plant forms”—from the root and stem leaves to the calyx and corolla, to pistil and stamens.” All forms are connected and can morph from one to the other. It is this relationship of form and process I try to imbue my art with, a malleability of identity inspired by nature."

FLAVIUS PISAPIA Resumé

Education
2012 - 2015  Sculpture Courses, Hoathly Hill Sculpture Studio, UK
2011 - 2014  MA, Tobias School of Arts, City & Guilds of London, UK
2010 - 2011  Diploma, Tobias School of Arts, City & Guilds of London, UK
2002 - 2005  BA (Hons), University of Wales, UK

Selected Solo Exhibitions
2021  Embodiments of Infinity, The Cube Gallery, India
2018  The Higher Self, Monalisa Kalagram, India
2018  The Higher Self, Art Mandala, India
2018  The Higher Self, Kala Kollective, India
2017  The Way of the Heart, Art Mandala, India
2017  Reconnecting, Just Being Center, India
2016  Soul Journey, Gyaan Adab, India

Selected Group Exhibitions
2021  Furniture and Art, The Cube Gallery, India
2018  Woven Together, Juneja Art Gallery, India
2016  World Environment Day, Monalisa Kalagram, India
2012  Clay and Stone, Hoathly Hill Sculpture Studio, UK
2011  Faces of the Night, London Art Therapy Centre, UK
2004  Short Films, The Truman Brewery, London, UK

Residencies
2021  The Cube Gallery, Goa, India
2020  Studio Sukriti, Jaipur, India
2019  Studio Sukriti, Jaipur, India
2019  Mandala Pottery, Auroville, India
2018  Adipa Studio, Pune, India

Awards/Scholarships/Grants
2017  Hermes Trust Artist Grant, UK
2016  FIGmd Art Grant, India

Publications/Catalogues/Articles
Livingetc magazine, 2021
The Higher Self, article in Times of India, 2018
Art Exhibition, article on Pune Mirror, 2018
Woven Together, catalogue at Juneja Gallery, 2018
The Invisible Truth, article on The Golden Sparrow, 2016
Art Review Volume 8, Gyaan Adab, 2016

Faculty/Teaching
Art & Therapy Workshops, Sahara Aalhad NGO, India, 2016, 2019
Sculpture Therapy Workshops, Adipa Studio, India, 2018
Sculpture Therapy Training, Goetheanum Medical Section CH, India, 2017, 2018  
Art & Therapy Workshops, Gyaan Adab, India, 2017  
Art & Well Being Workshops, Just Being Center, India, 2016 - 2017  
Transpersonal Arts Workshops, Peredur Centre for the Arts, UK, 2013 - 2014  
Art & Therapy Workshops, CareUK, UK, 2013 - 2014  
Art & Therapy Workshops, Tablehurst Cottage, UK, 2010 - 2015  
Art & Therapy Workshops, Pericles, UK, 2010 - 2015