Contemporary Artists

Interview with cartoonist Daniele Caluri

Daniele CaluriDaniele Caluri is a well-known cartoonist from Livorno. His successful career began at Il Vernacoliere, the city's satirical magazine which is read all over Italy.

How was it that you started working with Il Vernacoliere at the age of 14?

In a very ordinary way: at school, a friend and I used to draw humorous cartoons during lessons we weren’t interested in. We would pass them back and forth under the desk to make each other laugh (and to get each other sent out of the classroom). Once I managed to get my friend thrown out of class because he was in such fits of laughter, and afterwards I decided to post the cartoon that had made him laugh so much in the letter box of the Il Vernacoliere magazine, close to my school. A month later it was published and I’ve been collaborating with the magazine ever since, for the past 26 years.

Anonymous Art - Elena Bertoni & Simone Romano

Anonymous Art - Vespa VulgarisElena Bertoni and Simone Romano, both from Livorno, have been working together under the pseudonym Anonymous Art since 2000. Their research concerns the stylistic elements of esoteric and folkloristic architecture, and the distortions of legends and popular tales.

Antonio Vinciguerra

Antonio VinciguerraPainter and sculptor Antonio Vinciguerra was born in Livorno in 1937 and showed his talent for drawing from a very young age. Although he did not attend art school, he continued to nurture his love of art and finally dedicated himself entirely to painting in 1970. He was greatly influenced by Livornese artist Giovanni March whom he met in 1965, while a meeting with Pablo Picasso in 1959 played an important part in his artistic development.

Daniele Caluri, cartoonist

Don Zauker, Emiliano Pagani and Daniele Caluri's satirical comic stripDaniele Caluri is a Livornese cartoonist (b. Livorno 1971) who started working with the satirical publication Il Vernacoliere at the age of 14.

Diego Piccaluga

Photography by Diego PiccalugaDiego Piccaluga was born in Genoa on Christmas Eve 1955 under the sign of Capricorn. Until recently he lived in Livorno but just over a year ago moved to the village of Parlascio in the municipality of Casciana Terme, Province of Pisa.

Diego has been working in the arts for about 20 years, passing from the recycling of objects to contemporary painting using x-ray sheets. He is currently working with digital photography.

For further information contact Diego at diegopiccaluga@libero.it or on +(39) 338 2419727 or see his work at diegopiccaluga@blogspot.com

Dino Danti

Dino DantiDino Danti was born in Livorno in 1973. Although the subjects he paints - fishing boats in the port, crowded market places, views of Livorno's historic areas - are all traditionally and typically represented in local artists' work, Danti does so with a new and original perspective. The cliché images become something that is strongly personal, transforming themselves in the eyes of the viewer through the artist's energetic strokes. Landscapes are destructured, becoming a chromatic maze of bright colours and shapes, and taking on a contemporary feel that distinguishes Danti's work.

Fabio Mattolini

Fabio Mattolini, Blu 7, acrylic on woodFabio Mattolini was born in Livorno in 1966 and began painting and drawing at the age of 10 when he followed a course held by Gio’ di Batte, a local artist known for his still life painting. He continued to study under Di Batte until enrolling at the Libera Accademia Trossi-Uberti in Livorno in 1988. He later obtained diplomas in Creative Art at the Istituto d’Arte of Lucca and in Painting at the Florence Academy of Fine Arts in 1992 under Gianfranco Notargiacomo (painter and important exponent of the Italian Informale movement.

Federico Bocci

Federico Bocci, 24 CaratiFederico Bocci was born in 1974 in Livorno where he currently lives.
In the 1980s he was a regular visitor of the world's antiques markets following his family looking for art&design pieces, in the 90s - while studying - he started his career as art trader.
This unique school of life proved to be the best way to get to know people and market dynamics. At the dawn of the new millennium the family business started to focus on contemporary interior decor, so he visited the most important trade fairs to select arts&crafts to be presented along with their antiques, anticipating the concept store trend.

Francesco Baronti

Pop Zero, by Francesco Baronti: one of the works chosen to be shown for the BiennaleFrancesco Baronti was born in Livorno in 1973 from Italian-Puertorican parents, but spent several years of his early childhood in Somaliland, Africa, a period which greatly influenced him. He started painting at the age of 20 and has developed his own individual style thanks to this multi-cultural background. In 1995 Francesco was encouraged by artist Franco Sumberaz to enrol at the Florence Academy of Fine Arts.

Francesco Ermini

Autoritratto Metafisico su Edimborgo, Francesco ErminiFrancesco Ermini was born in Livorno in 1980. After classical studies, he enrolled to study law at Pisa University. During university he began to attend Luca Bellandi's art school where he learnt the basics of drawing and painting. This apprenticeship lasted until 2005 when Francesco started a personal walkabout which took him to various places worldwide for both study and work. In 2005 he moved to Oviedo, Spain, then in 2007 returned briefly to Italy to finish his law degree. In 2008 he went to the USA where he lived and worked first in New York, then in Houston, Texas.