Amedeo Fiorese Biography
Amedeo Fiorese was born in Bassano del Grappa in 1939. Descended from generations of musicians, almost by prediction, he received the name of his great-uncle and illustrious music composer and pianist. His artistic streak did not take long to reveal itself. He was only six years old when, on the banks of the Brenta, he was looking for clay, digging with his hands, to model the figures of the nativity scene which was later rewarded by his parish priest. The resulting enthusiasm, innate artistic talent and an irrepressible passion for art led him to win first prize at the Triveneto Vase Competition in Nove at the age of just 17. He was thus consulted by the director of the commission Giorgio Wenter Marini, who, having tested his potential, invited him to enroll at the Carmini Art Institute in Venice and then selected him from more than a thousand first-year students to illustrate the postcards of the Institute with two of his works. Having completed his artistic studies at the Art Institute of Venice in 1958, and obtained his qualification in Padua in 1963, over the following twenty years he taught drawing at various middle and high schools. At the same time, the work experience accumulated during the Seventies in the Bonvicini Fonderia in Verona, where he had the opportunity to learn new techniques and to compare himself with very important artists such as Giorgio de Chirico, Salvador Dalì, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Pablo Picasso, Luciano Minguzzi, Giacomo Manzù and Alberto Viani, was a fundamental stage in his artistic growth, characterized by constant material and multi-material research and continuous technical experimentation. A multifaceted art with an irrepressible imagination and an original compositional technique, a source not only of inspiration but also of imitation and counterfeiting for generations of renowned ceramists, sculptors, goldsmiths and designers. Hence an artistic career studded with successes: at 17 years old he won second prize at the “Gare di Mestiere” Ceramics Exhibition at the Vicenza International Exhibition (1956) and the following year the ENAPI silver medal at the II National Exhibition Ceramics in Gubbio (1957); at 19 he established himself internationally by exhibiting for the first of three consecutive appearances (1958-1960-1962) at the Venice Art Biennale; in 1962 he established himself in the goldsmith field with the Grazia prize for the creation of opaque gold medals; in the 60s and 70s he was the protagonist of several personal exhibitions including at the Galleria Bevilacqua La Masa in Venice and at the Villa Reale in Monza and inaugurated the first permanent personal gallery owned on the outskirts of Bassano del Grappa, along the provincial road that connects Bassano in Marostica; in 1975, at the 33rd International Competition in Faenza, one of his works created in drawing and reworked with great skill and creativity was selected by the Japanese committee of the Chunichi International Exhibition for a series of exhibitions in Japan in the cities of Nagoya, Tokyo, Osaka, Kanazawa ; in 1976 he won the gold medal at the XXXIV International Ceramics Competition in Faenza and received the Diploma of Honor at the XVI National Ceramics Exhibition in Castellamonte (TO); in 1977 he received the Italy Prize at the First National Exhibition for Bronze and Sculpture at Palazzo Doria in Genoa and the Special Sculpture Prize at the II Jacopo da Ponte International Prize; in 1979 he was invited to the IV International Biennial of Dante's Bronzetto in Ravenna; in 1983 Pope John Paul II admired with wonder and received as a gift one of his crucifixes in ceramic, enamel and gold; between 1985 and 1995 he inaugurated two permanent personal galleries in the heart of the historic city of Bassano del Grappa: in Piazza Terraglio, close to the medieval Castle of Ezzelino, between the Ser Ivano tower and the historic house where Lazzaro Bonamico was born; and in the former stables of the seventeenth-century Palazzo Bonaguro in the street that leads to the Palladian Ponte Vecchio; in 1996 it was included in the Historical Consultation Archive of Modern and Contemporary Art of the Palazzo Bandera Museum of Arts in Busto Arsizio (VA); in 1999 he was appointed by the Diocesan Commission for Sacred Art and Ecclesiastical Cultural Heritage of Rome to take care of the entire artistic aspect of the new Church of San Vincenzo di Thiene, creating 2 altars, the ambo and the baptismal font in marble, the Holy Family 2.5 meters high and 12 large 4 meter high bronze columns and a surprising mosaic of approximately 500 m² in the dome, the first example of mosaic on polycarbonate, created with particular attention to acoustics; in 2003 she won the Promoter of Fine Arts Award at the Ceramica d'Autore exhibition for Genoa 2004 European Capital of Culture; in 2006 he attended the public inauguration of his sculpture “Colloquio”, a large bronze work commemorating the historic meeting between Gorbachev and Reagan; in 2007 he published his monograph edited by P. Levi, Ed. G. Mondadori and soon cataloged in the most important contemporary art museums and libraries in the world; in 2010 he participated in the first Asolo Biennale with works in steel and wood and in 2011 he was chosen by Sgarbi to exhibit in the initiative promoted by the Italian Pavilion at the 54th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale for the 150th anniversary of unity of Italy with two large bronze works in the two prestigious loggias. Many of his works have been published since 1956 in many catalogs of National and International Competitions and since 1974 in numerous volumes published by Rizzoli, G. Mondadori, Faenza Ed. and Ed. La fenice. Amedeo Fiorese lives and works in Bassano del Grappa where his works are exhibited in the three galleries he owns: in via Molise 3, just outside Bassano; in Piazza Terraglio 21 and in via Angarano 73 in the heart of the historic city.
