Today we will meet a master sculptor from the Salento sub-region of Puglia.
Today we will meet Renzo Buttazzo…
Our van pulls up to the private gate. Fabio, our driver, pushes the button to announce that we have arrived. The gates open and we enter the world of an artist, a sculptor to be precise…we enter the world of sculptor, Renzo Buttazzo.
Click on any photo for a virtual tour with Renzo!
Renzo greets us warmly and welcomes us to his studio/laboratory and home which is located on the outskirts of Lecce. It is in this compound that Renzo’s vision of the world, his imagination and inspiration, are honed and carved from blocks of local stone called pietra leccese.
Click on any photo for a virtual visit!
Renzo is the quintessential sculptor. Like everything around us, he is lightly dusted with the soft creamy indigenous limestone that is his artistic medium. Dust on his clothing and hands, in his hair… fine powder on every surface…
Cigarette in hand, his energy is intense and animated. Like his art, Renzo has the quality of being in perpetual movement…lean, essential, no excess, nothing superfluous…
“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”
-Michelangelo
Renzo’s angels are original and unique shapes and forms, physical expressions of how he sees the world. Every sculpture is carved from a single piece of stone – yes, every single one!
The sheer nature of sculpting requires patience and care. Physically demanding, with every tap of the chisel, the sculptor risks shattering his vision to pieces…
Renzo demonstrates his craft for us. Before our eyes he transforms a block of pietra leccese into a “simple” bowl… expertly chipping, hewing, carving, chiseling, sculpting with a precision born of years of passion and experience.
Click on any photo to see Renzo at work!
“A sculptor is a person obsessed with the form and shape of things.”
– Henry Moore
Renzo introduces us to his sculptures, sharing the muse and influence of each piece while gently caressing the curves and angles with an intimacy and reverence of an artist for his creation. His sculptures are original, contemporary and unconventional. Shapes and forms that invite touch. Shapes that evoke the characteristics of the Salento – sun, sea, and wind.
Click on any photo to visit his studio!
Shaped by millennia, each stone destined for the final phase in its evolution which will be at the hands of man and not nature…and in the case of master sculptor Renzo Buttazzo, very good hands…
Click HERE: “Meet” Renzo and Watch Him at Work on My YouTube Video!
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2 thoughts on “Sculpture Salento Style – Sun, Sea & Wind”
Wonderful article Victoria! So beautifully expressed and it definitely captures the spirit of that artist and our visit to his studio. This was one of many highlights in Puglia and not to be missed!
Grazie Paula, so very gratifying to know that you enjoyed meeting Renzo as much as I did!
Looking forward to more travels together in the future!
🙋🏻🇮🇹❤️
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