Luigi Voltolina Biography
Luigi Voltolina was born in Vlora in 1942. In 1944 he moved to Venice where he attended the Carmini Art Institute under the guidance of maestro Dinon. After his artistic studies he gained direct experience in small art studios and, intrigued by glass art, worked for a short period at the F.lli Toso glass factory in Murano. An initial self-taught training was followed, from the 1960s onwards, by an intense activity of cultural exchanges and frequenting literary circles, especially the Capitoline ones, including Sergio Moricco's CIDAC (International Center for the Diffusion of Art and Culture) with which participates in the anthology "The Sign and the Word" curated by Gabriella Sobrino and Guglielmo Petroni. In '74 he was invited to the X Quadrennial International Art Exhibition in Rome. His first exhibitions date back to 1963: numerous solo exhibitions in Italy and various experiences abroad including Geneva, London, Paris, Amsterdam and Nancy. His stay in Madrid in 1984 is significant, a city that hosted his first solo exhibition at the invitation of the Italian Embassy and which, with its culture, gave him inspiration for the drafting of a series of impromptu drawings dedicated to flamenco dance , collected in the “Spanish Notebook” catalogue. Also in Madrid, Voltolina collaborates on the editorial staff of the flamenco magazine “Candil” and, in 1991, exhibits at the Enrique Gomez art studio. From '91 to '93 he held an exhibition between Vienna and Klagenfurt, where he came into contact with the gallery owner Rudolf Nice who included him among the artists permanently at Gallery 61.
