Valeria Gasparrini
Artist, illustrator
About
Valeria Gasparrini ( Rome, 1964), was formed thanks to a rich contribution of artistic and literary experiences: classical studies, research in ceramics, painting, fresco, engraving, drawing from life; attended the three-year course of illustration at the IED, and was trained in the graphic engraved at the Stamperia del Tevere , in Rome. Today she works as an artist, as an advertising illustrator and freelance editorial, as a teacher of drawing, visual and illustration at Quasar Design University, the Academy of Fine Arts of L'Aquila ABAQ, the American University in Rome AUR. He draws live in theatrical performances, and realizes performances with stage machines of various nature that builds and animates on stage. As an artist he has participated in personal and collective exhibitions, and passionately dedicates himself to the creation of artist’s books, combining his remarkable illustrative nature with the infinite expressive possibilities of engraving techniques.
He has exhibited in Rome, Milan, Bologna, Faenza, Venice, Paris, Luxembourg, Rothemburg. Some of his works are part of permanent exhibitions, such as the ceramic work "Rain" at the International Museum of ceramics in Faenza, the artist book "How many irreplaceable lives", exhibited at the national library of Luxembourg, and its printed version exhibited at the Casa della Memoria in Rome.
They wrote about here
Daniele Scalise, Loris Schermi, Francesca Tuscano, Michèle Wallenborn, Devin Kovach, Sarah Linford, Gianluca Tedaldi. Valeria Bertesina. For interested people, I am writing to offer the highest recommendation for Valeria Gasparrini who has held two engraving workshops for the Rome Center of Architecture and Culture at Woodbury University which I direct. He guided the students' works, taking them from the initial drawings to the creation of the definitive prints and their possible display in an exhibition. I find her one of the most creatively contagious and inspiring people with whom I have had the opportunity to collaborate. Let me take the liberty of offering a few details regarding his remarkable abilities. To begin with, she is a very competent artist in her field. She is also generous in sharing her experience and does so with great enthusiasm. In the initial phase of the projects he offers numerous approaches, both experimental and conventional, with the aim of giving birth to works of art that can then be created on slabs. In the workshops we used zinc and copper plates, and the results were surprising. It featured field sketching exercises, complex mapping projects, and digital plate file translations. It has provided Woodbury with some of the most powerful and transformative learning experiences students have had in Rome; also in relation to what they do at home. Our students love her and she has been there for them every step of the way, teaching them techniques to achieve their creative goals. It is a magical moment when the students complete the drawings, prepare the plates, ink them working in their studio. And then they print them. This would not have been possible for us without Valeria's expertise. Thank you for the opportunity to offer a great recommendation for Valeria and I would be happy to discuss her merits further should you wish to contact me at my email: paulette.singey@gmail.c
Best regards Paulette Singley Woodbury University professor, Director of the Rome Center for Architecture and Culture
Engraved graphic and lithographs
What fascinates me about engraving techniques is the replicability of the matrix; not so much in quantitative terms (the concept of circulation in the classical sense), but in terms of freedom of expression. Once I get to the realization of the matrix – it would be better to say the matrices, since I work preferably with multiple matrices – I relax and have fun. My narrative effort has come to an end and the fear of error is a rock overcome, supplanted by experimentation, by the physical satisfaction of chromatic research. From this moment on it is an insatiable combination of colors, treatments, overlaps and transformations; I change my mind avidly, and I do not define a point of arrival in my continuous search for a new possibility. Given the assumptions, the result is an army of different interpretations, and all claim first place and all have the same merits… and I cannot decide for the best; I love them all with the same intensity. So I work mainly based on the formula of the suite, where more variables of the same plate are summoned to constitute a unique work, not definitive, that modulates and is transformed according to the spaces and the feeling of the moment.
suites
The suites are multiple chromatic versions of the same engravings, called to compose a single work, by definition changing and constantly changing… once printed, from the moment on is an insatiable combination of colors, treatments, overlaps and transformations; changing my mind avidly and without defining a point of arrival. Given the assumptions, the result is an army of different interpretations, and all claim first place and all have the same merits…
Chalcography
The works in this section are works that found a definitive form and have been expressed in a conventional print run. The engraving includes all the techniques that lead to an engraved matrix and its reproduction in print: etching, aquatint, drypoint, engraving wheels, sugar lift etchings, soft ground, burin, lavis…
Artist's book
The artist’s book combines the expressive qualities of a work with the time factor: the artist’s book looks through, is composed, creates a story. Artist’s books are not simply leafed through: they open like boxes, they are composed, they are constructed and deconstructed; browsing an artist’s book is often also an experience for our fingers: Engravings, collages, signs and seams are often an integral part of the works.
Linocut and xylography
In xylography (wood engraving) or linocut (linoleum or pvc engraving) the matrix is worked to remove what will not be printed, and leave in relief what will later be inked and printed. The same logic applied to leaded movable characters for the printing of newspapers… only in this case instead of a letter you have a drawing, and instead of lead you work wood or linoleum. This technique uses the gouges (small chisels with tips of different sizes and shapes) and the burin (goldsmith’s tool, which engraves the metal with thin and precise lines).
pop up works
Three-dimensional evolution of printed paper
Monotypes and collages
Once and then no more; improvisations ennobled by the press.
Lithographs
In lithography, as for some monotypes, a flat matrix is used; a matrix that has neither reliefs nor depressions, but only areas where there is ink and others where there is not. The material of which the matrix is made must be able to absorb water, so a particular type of stone or a particular type of aluminum is used. In the particular case of xerox transfer the matrix is the photocopied sheet of paper. In the printing phase the matrix is wetted, and the ink is spread over the entire surface; on wet the ink will not adhere, placing only on the points that -drawn with soft pencils, or inked by the photocopier machine- remained dry. A sheet of paper is superimposed and printed with the press.