Art is creativity, emotion, poetry and sometimes provocation. But it is also technique and research, the desire to explore new paths or to retrace the footsteps of tradition by reinventing it. This is the pursuit of artists like Wendy Ramsay, a sculptor and painter from Canada, who now calls Pietrasanta home. Her work is a quest for a patina that infuses her bronze creations with an aura reminiscent of distant epochs.

I have had the opportunity to observe ancient patinas in several museums, from the Guggenheim in New York with the exhibition ‘China, 5000 years’, to the Maillol in Paris with works from Pompeii to the National Etruscan Museum in Rome”, Wendy tells us. “In all these cases, as different as they are, the beauty of the sculptures remains untouched by time’s passage. In fact, after centuries spent buried underground or submerged in water, the harmony of their forms radiates through the traces of past centuries, adding to their allure and depth of soul.”

ccustomed to modelling clay with her own hands, the artist has gradually experimented with bronze, tackled marble and invented new ways of creating graphics with her very personal ‘monotypes’. Now she has found a way to add that special antique patina to her more classically inspired sculptures.

“I leave my sculptures to the fate of the natural elements, using special formulas and techniques to speed up the process. It can take weeks or months to achieve the desired effect. But it is also a ‘serendipitous’ approach: I often discover something new while looking for something else. For me, who began sculpting with earth and clay, this return to the elements is a kind of ‘coming full circle”.

Wendy Ramsay’s work is exhibited in her gallery-workshop in the historic centre of Pietrasanta, open by appointment. And with a phone call and a bit of luck, you may have the opportunity to meet the artist in person.

Ramsay Sculpture
via dei Piastroni 42, Pietrasanta | +39 348 0462663
www.ramsaysculpture.com | sculpture@ramsaysculpture.com