“Inner Motion”
During her childhood, Paola Grizi would often watch her aunt working with clay. In those moments, Grizi followed her aunt’s hands as they coaxed out the forms of small sculptures, sparking her own fascination with the medium.
“I experienced it as a game, and from there, I have always found pleasure in modeling clay,” the Italian artist tells My Modern Met. “Over time, I ventured into various creative fields, but sculpture prevailed above all, becoming my passion and eventually my profession.”
Since then, Grizi has continued to develop her sculpting practice, eventually arriving at a distinct aesthetic that fuses books with the human body. These sculptures typically depict faces emerging from a book’s pages, provoking a quiet sense of introspection.
“The idea of the book, partly driven by my love for literature, turned out to be the perfect medium for my artistic vision,” Grizi explains. “Fluttering pages, enigmatic faces, a story suspended between the past and the future, a journey that unravels as you turn the pages.”
Essential to evoking this journey is Grizi’s own spontaneity and intuition. The artist works without preparatory sketches or designs, focusing instead on what she calls a “dialogue” between her and the material. Throughout this process, initial shapes and gestures begin to peek out unexpectedly, informing how she adjusts to or accommodates the clay with which she sculpts.
“The faces naturally settle where the clay seems to direct them,” she says. “In its entirety, it’s a process of mutual discovery between the material and the inspiration that leads me to continue shaping the piece.”
After casting her sculptures in bronze, Grizi engraves writing into the book’s pages. Though decorative, these engravings also serve the larger function of communicating a cohesive story, whether it be about the “elusive nature of dreams, the wonder of stepping into an unknown world, or the deep intensity of love,” as Grizi describes it.
“The engravings are an integral part of the piece. They convey a meaning that enriches and completes the narrative,” she adds. “The goal is to create something that seems to be in perpetual transformation, yet still possesses a solid, expressive core—something that balances both change and permanence.
To learn more about the artist, visit Paola Grizi’s website.
Italian artist Paola Grizi fuses books with evocative yet enigmatic portraits of human faces.
“Silence”
“Myself”
“Looking Ahead”
“A-mors”
The artist works without preparatory sketches or designs, focusing instead on what she calls a “dialogue” between her and the material.
“Background”
“Notebook”
“Another Place”
Each of Grizi’s sculptures offers a quiet sense of introspection alongside a cohesive narrative, whether it be about the intensity of love or the elusive nature of dreams.
Paola Grizi at the foundry.
“Kiss”
“Punch”
Paola Grizi: Website | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Paola Grizi.
Related Articles:
Monumental Rice Grain Sculptures Celebrate Individual and Collective Power
Innovative Floral Arrangements Test the Limits of How and Where Flowers Can Thrive
Glistening Sculptures Pay Tribute to the Myriad of Colors, Textures, and Shapes Found in Nature