Lucia Riccelli

Born in Rome, painter and performance-artist, living and working in Vienna, Rome and Zakynthos

Life

Born in Rome, Lucia Riccelli studied painting and stage design at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma. She graduates in 1993 and devotes herself to her ballet training at the private conservatory in Rome, which she completes with a diploma in 1990. She specialises in contemporary dance. In 1995 she moved to Vienna. She has given numerous performances in Austria, Italy, Germany, Great Britain (London), the USA (New York) and Egypt (Cairo, International Festival for Experimental Theatre 1994/96/99). Since 2005, the artist has devoted herself to live painting and a wide variety of dance performances. The performative arts have always influenced Lucia Riccelli’s career as a visual artist. The combination of dance, video, music and installation is reflected in her work as a painter.

Work

For years Lucia Riccelli has been fascinated by the depiction of the human being with its multifaceted expression and the diversity of its movements. A gestural and expressive brushstroke on unprimed canvas is typical of her work. She condenses brief moments into a sensual and powerful statement of character and willpower. Furthermore, blurred colours are an essential part of her creative repertoire, underlining the impression of spontaneity.

Riccelli’s passion in addition to painting for dance and music, is perceptible several times in her work. Often her figures seem to dance on the unprimed linen, emerging vividly and at the same time dissolving and becoming transparent. This contrast between elaborate details and dissolution into the abstract is what makes her paintings so fascinating and gives them something mysterious. According to the artist herself, strong colours that contrast with rough canvas have become her trademark.

“It is the female figures that mark one of the starting points of my painting. I have always been interested in exploring the image of women. Obsessions and changes are to be made conscious by letting the figure of the woman oscillate between docility, rebellion, consciousness and renunciation. It is sometimes my aim to reflect on certain values ascribed to women by tradition but also by discrimination. In imaginary places, I put them on display in order to free them from their role and the prejudices that come with it. In order to be able to analyse the dynamics of interpersonal relationships that result from these new circumstances, I draw on stimuli from everyday life. These are random occurrences that are processed into new stories.” (Lucia Riccelli, 2011)

Exhibitions

Numerous exhibitions at home and abroad, including in Vienna, Salzburg, Venice, New York, Miami, Hangzhou.