Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rhea Marmentini. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Rhea, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?
Freedom.
Dedication to art requires persistent altruism to reach a depth and to develop one´s language, followed by a total, almost slavish commitment, for it is a chosen sacrifice, a full-time dedication to mastering a language that can evoke depth and beauty. This is the origin of freedom. The unfolding of this freedom is what I´m planning to share in the form of a sculpture park along the Hudson River.
This will be my Living Museum. A place where monumental sculptures are not just shown but grown from rocks, by hand, over time. The land itself will become part of the story.
Years ago, I built the DRAGÓN DE LA CALDERONA, a sculptured building in Spain. It took me eight years to complete it. That dragon has now flown across the Atlantic and landed here in the Hudson Valley, not to rest, but to hatch its new creations. These sculptures will be the first generation of new monumental work made on American soil, sculpted here, rooted here, and offered from here thanks to Bank Art Gallery.
Rhea, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I´m primally a stone sculptor with a multicultural background. Now freshly based in New York since 2024 I offer monumental stone sculpture for parks, urban art projects & architectural landscapes as well as gallery scale pieces for private collectors.
Creating often clashes with the objective external reality in which we also live, but is essential for the work to manifest. The fight requires space, tools, and materials.
Without forcing it, to let it happen, one creates this opportunity; the circumstances for a dance between human spirit, one´s tools, and the rock. I am humble towards the stone, I don’t use the tool to impose myself but to accept its nature, to follow the lines it leaves in a mass of time. And, one need not hide the brushstrokes.
Perhaps it is all about time. A dialogue. As the rock condenses time-gathered, art becomes more than a tool of
self-expression.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
My sculptural work is made from white marble, volcanic rock or any matter that has been developing over millions of years. The nobel and well aging elegant material become more precious with the passing of time reevaluating its surroundings for hundreds or even thousands of years.
I am constantly searching forms that could pre-exist us today, or 20,000 years from now, and carry the same meaning in these different times, in completely different cultures. Forms, that when eroded with time are strong enough to keep their meaning. I see this as a way of time travelling.
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
I started working with rocks in Japan, Paris & Bretagne with Pierre Székely back in 1997 when I was only 17. With my master I learned to work with stone quarries in monumental scale. In times when most of the public art is getting fabricated, I believe in the importance of connecting with the matter when creating art, even in larger scales. For me the magic happens when the philosophy of the creator manifests through the subtleties of creation that can very easily get lost in a fabrication process. I did work in different fabrication facilities to accomplish my work but I always became the fabricator in the facility surrounded by great technical help. If this wasn’t able to happen, I had to find a different facility.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://marmentini.com
- Instagram: rheamarmentini
- Facebook: Rhea Marmentini
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/marmentini
Image Credits
Rhea Marmentini Joe Puglisi (the las pic) is taken by Joe Puglisi