Materially Speaking

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Ko Yamazaki was born in Japan but at 17 he went to Paris to study before finding his second home in Italy, working with marble.
Today Mike Axinn and I are back in Studio Pescarella, on the outskirts of Pietrasanta to chat with Ko Yamazaki. Originally from Kyoto, Japan, Ko has been coming to carve in Pietrasanta, Italy, since 1992. We find him working in the sunlight, polishing marble in his outside workspace under a hot tin roof. On his cavalletti are some rounded Yin and Yang forms which he is polishing.
Born the child of teachers, Ko’s mother was an activist and supported many causes. At the age of 10, he was surprised to find that the summer camp he was sent away on, was for communists. This encouraged him to reflect on the impact of politics from a very young age. Ko’s early life was moulded by a rich blend of activism, creativity, and a sense of independence; he often spent time with his grandmother while his parents worked.
At 17, Ko left Japan for Paris and, although young, he was accepted at the Sorbonne to study art. Initially drawn to painting, he soon realized he didn’t enjoy the solitary nature of painting.
His father suggested he try Pietrasanta, a town renowned for its marble and artistic community. First Ko stayed with his father in his workspace, and took odd jobs helping out at the foundry and delivery jobs for the galleries.
Ko was captivated by the energy and possibilities of working with stone, and decided to stay. He describes his first attempts at sculpture, including carving his own hand in marble, an artwork that was stolen. Established artists, and artisans, helped him shape his learning, and develop his approach in conceptual art.
He works in wood while he is in Kyoto and stone when in Pietrasanta. He divides his working life between the two. He also sometimes creates in clay and plaster.
An avid reader, Ko has always been influenced by his Japanese heritage of the creation of paper.

Ko tells how he came to carve a black cardboard box in marble. He was pondering on how people often have that final cardboard box after they’ve moved house, which sits in a room, unopened. He always wonders why the owner never just opens it and empties it out. Ko wanted to create this box in the heavy material of marble to reflect the emotional weight of unopened boxes, and likes the contrast displayed by carving a paper object in stone.
Ko’s Japanese heritage inspired his fascination with transforming hard stone into forms that resemble delicate paper or books. He expresses a desire to preserve the tactile and cultural experience of reading and writing, which he feels is fading in the digital age.  An avid reader Ko created a series on books.
He works in wood while he is in Kyoto and stone when in Pietrasanta. He divides his working life between the two.
koyamazaki.com
instagram.com/ko.yamazaki

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Sculpture Vulture is a podcast which we love, and if you haven’t discovered it yet, we’re sure you’ll enjoy it. Produced and presented by bronze conservator and restorer Lucy Branch of Antique Bronze in the UK, it offers insights shaped by her specialist work in sculpture restoration, war memorial conservation and bronze maintenance.
Lucy hosts conversations with contemporary sculptors, shares the stories behind historic statues, and explores the wider world of public sculpture. Her storytelling is shaped by her distinctive training: a degree in Art History with Material Studies from University College, followed by a Masters in Conservation from the Royal College of Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum.
As well as caring for many much-loved UK monuments, including Nelson’s Column, Eros, Cleopatra’s Needle and the Albert Memorial. Lucy has also restored bronze sculptures by artists who worked in Pietrasanta, among them Henry Moore, Helaine Blumenfeld and Igor Mitoraj.
Lucy invited Sarah to share how Materially Speaking began, and to reflect on the artistic community of Pietrasanta. As they exchange stories of their favourite sculptures, Lucy introduces the idea of “sculptural tourism”, even imagining a sculpture passport for travellers and together they draw out insights into how we encounter public art today.
Lucy is also a writer and novelist, and you can support her work by exploring her books: Wax On Was Off: How to Care for Your Bronze Sculpture and Bronze Behaving Badly: The Principles of Bronze Conservation.
We also highly recommend her excellent podcast series, Sculpture Vulture, available on Spotify, Google and Apple Podcasts.
sculpturevulture.co.uk/sculpture-vulture-podcast
antiquebronze.co.uk

instagram.com/lucybranch_sculpturevulture

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Renowned sculptor Alex Seton tells us about his journey from a rural Australian upbringing to becoming a prominent artist known for politically charged marble works.
He speaks about how he became fascinated with marble at a very early age, and how he was influenced by his unconventional upbringing near an historic quarry.
His family spent his childhood in the Australian bush with no electricity, a sawdust toilet and no hot water. He and his three brothers studied in a small local Catholic school. Alex and Sarah met in the studios of Massimo Galleni, which has been his studio in Pietrasanta for the last 15 years, where he was finishing up The Tenderness Series. We learn how his passion for social change inspires his work and leads him to use his art to explore themes of social engagement, privacy, and identity. 

Alex tells about a work he did for a sculpture competition in a hotel, which caused a visceral response from viewers - revealing those who had empathy for the homeless and those who reviled them. The piece is called Unsettled. Alex’s first shows included an installation where the gallery had their leather-topped benches replaced by marble versions, which all had bum prints in the marble. So when the visitor came into an empty gallery they would think “what am I looking at?”.
Alex became well known for his series of cross-legged, hooded figures with hollowed out faces from 2012, which he presented at the Hong Kong Fair, just before it became Art Basel. The hoodie seemed to him an egalitarian garment - worn as readily by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg and by Martin Trayvon, the young man shot dead in Florida. Alex explains he can get obsessed with fashion items.
Alex did a series of works during the pandemic, one of which one touched Sarah deeply. Proposal for a Humble Monument was inspired by how, in a place called Bathurst, convicts used to hack away and pull out big blocks of lime. Alex considered all the monuments around the world being pulled down because they reflect our shameful colonial past, and wondered what we might replace them with. He decided something more humble would be appropriate, and so the Proposal For a Humble Monument was named to honour the pain of those miners.
Alex tells us how he came to name the piece Someone Died Trying To Have a Life Like Mine (2014) which pays respects to the many refugees whose lives were lost at sea trying to reach a better life.

alexseton.com
instagram.com/alexseton_

Massimo Galleni Studios, gallenimassimo.it

Sullivan + Strumpf Gallery, sullivanstrumpf.com

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Questo episodio continua anche il nostro desiderio di produrre un episodio per stagione in italiano.
In keeping with our desire to produce one episode per season in Italian.

Inoltre, ora avete la possibilità di guardare questo episodio come video o semplicemente ascoltare l'audio.
In addition, you now have the option to watch this episode as a video below or on YouTube, with English subtitles, or simply listen to the audio, in Italian only.
Nato a Roma, ma ora residente in Versilia, Giannelli è probabilmente famoso soprattutto per la sua gigantesca scultura Mr Arbitrium, alta oltre cinque metri, che sembra spingere via o sostenere gli edifici contro cui è appoggiata, a seconda del punto di vista dello spettatore.  
Born in Rome, but now living in Versilia, Giannelli is probably best known for his giant sculpture, Mr Arbitrium, over five metres tall, which appears to be either pushing away or supporting the buildings it stands against - depending on the viewers’ point of view.  
Questa ambiguità trasforma noi spettatori in protagonisti, mettendo in discussione le nostre convinzioni sul significato di queste strutture e sul nostro legame con esse. Diverse versioni di Mr Arbitrium sono state installate su edifici e chiese a Milano, Firenze, Lucca, Servezza, Carrara, Pietrasanta e persino in Ucraina.
This ambiguity turns us as viewers into the protagonists, challenging our beliefs about the meaning of these structures and our connection to them. Versions of Mister Arbitrium have been installed against buildings and churches in Milan, Florence, Lucca, Servezza, Carrara, Pietrasanta and even Ukraine.
Giannelli accoglie Mike sul prato della tenuta di famiglia, dove la sua serie di sculture in bronzo I Sospesi è appesa agli alberi e un simpatico labrador nero giace sull'erba.  
Giannelli welcomes Mike on the lawn of the family estate, where his series of bronze sculptures I Sospesi hang from the trees, and a friendly black labrador lies on the grass.
Emanuele è arrivato a Carrara a diciannove anni per studiare scultura all'Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara, stabilendosi qui in Versilia, dove la sua famiglia aveva vissuto nelle generazioni precedenti. All'Accademia ha scelto di lavorare l'argilla piuttosto che il marmo, per la flessibilità che offre e per la natura più concettuale del suo lavoro. 
Emanuele came to Carrara at nineteen to study sculpture at the Carrara Academy of Fine Arts, settling here in Versilia, where his family had lived in previous generations. At the Academy he chose to work in clay rather than marble, due to the flexibility it offers and the nature of his work being more conceptual.
Giannelli racconta a Mike di come, in gioventù, abbia trascorso del tempo a New York, Londra e Berlino, subendo l'influenza della fantascienza, del cinema, dei graffiti, della musica elettronica e del punk rock. Alla fine è tornato a Pietrasanta, luogo più adatto per crescere una famiglia.
Giannelli tells Mike how in his youth he spent time in New York, London and Berlin and was influenced by science fiction, cinema, graffiti, electronic music, and punk rock. Eventually he returned to Pietrasanta which was more conducive to raising a family.
Ricorda la gioia di incontrare artigiani e visitare i laboratori che allora si trovavano nel centro di Pietrasanta. E gli piacevano anche le feste e la vita sociale con tanti giovani, soprattutto stranieri, tedeschi, francesi e americani.
He recalls the joy of meeting artisans and visiting the workshops which were then in the centre of Pietrasanta. And he also enjoyed the parties and social life with lots of young people, especially foreigners, Germans, French, and Americans.
The Watcher è una scultura che osserva il cielo con binocoli, cosa che gli esseri umani hanno sempre fatto. Tuttavia, ora, grazie alla tecnologia, sta cercando di guardare oltre. Emanuele afferma che “oltre” gli fa pensare anche alla spiritualità. 
The Watcher is a sculpture who looks up with binoculars at the sky, which is something humans have always done. However now, through technology, he is trying to look beyond. Emanuele says that ‘beyond’ also makes him think of spirituality.
Un'altra opera che cita con un tema visionario è Korf, un uomo che sta in piedi davanti al suo monitor, con le braccia incrociate, lo sguardo rivolto verso l'alto, alla ricerca della sua visione e del suo futuro.
Another work he mentions with a visionary theme is Korf, a man who stands watching on his monitor, arms crossed, gaze turned upwards, searching for his vision and his future.
Emanuele afferma che, pur non credendo in un codice chiamato religione, crede molto negli esseri umani. Dice che, sebbene siamo animali e abbiamo un senso di autodistruzione, siamo animali straordinari. Le sue opere si collocano tra il figurativo e il concettuale, riflettendo sul periodo contemporaneo caratterizzato da cambiamenti incredibilmente rapidi. 
Emanuele says although he doesn't believe in a code called religion, he believes very much in human beings. He says that although we are animals, and have a sense of self-destruction, we are extraordinary animals. His works are pitched between figurative and conceptual, reflecting on the contemporary period of incredibly fast-moving change.

emanuelegiannelli.it

instagram.com/emanuele.giannelli

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Originally from Zurich, Maja was always keen to leave Switzerland and with an Italian grandmother perhaps Italy was always going to be her destination. She moved to Italy in 1991.
She speaks to us about how her approach to work has changed. When she was young she liked seeing the impression her hands made on the work, while now she seeks smoothness and perfection.

We meet Maja at her home - Artists Hill - an old farmhouse, surrounded by olive groves and a huge vegetable garden, which she has renovated into a home, studios, and a part that she rents out.

First Maja shows us the room where she draws, and then we move over to her new modelling studio, opposite the house.
In the middle of this room, towering above her, is a spiral column. It’s a plastercast - soon to be realised in acrylic resin and earth.
Maja tells us about a bas relief project in 16 panels called dressing. The question she originally posed was, “Can we change religion like clothes or is religion something inherent to us, you know, is it like part of us?"
One of Maja’s first pieces was Extension of Ego and now it takes pride of place in her studio. Maja still loves it and it represents the theme she still develops of externalising human traits in her work.
Labrynth is another of Maja’s pieces that follows the theme of a body’s outside reflecting what is inside.
majathommen.ch
instagram.com/thommenmaja