Franca Marini is an Italian international artist. She pursued her artistic academic studies in Italy followed by studies in painting in the United States. She lived and worked as a professional artist in New York Cty for over 10 year. After many years experience in the pictorial arts, she is currently engaged in the creation of site-specific installations and video art. The subjects of her videos are connected to urban settings of contemporary metropolis and to human rights issues. She has exhibited in personal and group shows, carried out public art commissions, participated in film festivals and in cultural events in Europe, the United States, Central America and Palestine. Her work is to be found in public and private collections in Italy and abroad.
born Siena, Italy
Education
born Siena, Italy
Education
| 1990-89 | San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco, independent study in painting |
| 1988 | Fort Mason Art Center San Francisco, painting class |
| 1987 | Centro d’Arte Il Verrocchio Casole d’Elsa (Siena), drawing and sculpture class The Citylit London, painting class |
| 1986-82 | Accademia di Belle Arti Florence, degree in painting, graduated summa cum laude |
| 1982-78 | Istituto Statale d'Arte Duccio di Buoninsegna Siena, degree in painting, graduated with highest honours |
SELECTED VIDEO SCREENINGS / VIDEO-SOUND INSTALLATIONS
Abitare la diversità / living diversity (2021)
- May 28 2023 INTERCULTURAL DAY Tutti i colori del Mondo / All the Colours of the World
Associazione Poggio d’Oro APS, Montalcino (Siena), Italy
- December 10 2021 Migration and Human Rights
event on the occasion of Human Rights Day, Siena Civil Court
- April 24 2021 Confronto Italiano - XII edizione. I diritti umani tra mondo globale e identità locali /
Human rights between a global world and local identities on-line congress
www.confrontoitaliano.it
Migrations (2020)
- September 25-26 2020 Officina Creativa dell’Abitare OCRA, Montalcino (Siena)
event part of the XVI EUROPEAN ACTION WEEK AGAINST RACISM
organized by SOS Razzismo Italia in collaboration with Scuola Permanente dell'Abitare
- June 20-22 2020 mobile film festival in response to pandemic The Lebanese National Theater Tyre, Tyre, Lebanon
Tiro Association For the Arts at The Lebanese National Theater Tyre
a new life / on a journey (2018)
- December 10 2019, Università Popolare di Roma
on the occasion of Human Rights Day and the 30th anniversary of SOS Razzismo Italia
Un Mar Rojo (2014-18)
- July 19 2022 Cuba and the Gaza Strip in the interpretation of an artist, “Il Giardino Segreto” Siena Civil Court
- June 28 2019 XXI century video art exhibition Macro Asilo, Museo Macro | Museo d'Arte Contemporanea di Roma
- May 2-8 Romerías de Mayo Art Festival, Holguin, Cuba
Origins (2012-16)
- October 8 2022 Eighteenth Edition of Giornata del Contemporaneo Museo Civico per la Preistoria del Monte Cetona, Cetona, Italy
video-sound installation, presentation by Margherita Mercanti
- September 21 2019, outdoor video-sound installation, Inner Room - Open Zona Toselli, Siena
- August 4 2022, “Il Giardino Segreto” Siena Civil Court
a dream in Gaza (2015)
- July 19 2022 Cuba and the Gaza Strip in the interpretation of an artist, “Il Giardino Segreto” Siena Civil Court
- September 26 2017 Eleventh Human Rights Film Festival organized by the Colectivo de Cine Forum de Valparaiso
Valparaíso, Chile
- February 15 2017, Bard College, Annandale-On-Hudson, New York, presentation by the artist
- December 2016 - February 16 2017, Stanze della Memoria
Istituto Storico della Resistenza senese e dell'Età Contemporanea (ISRSEC), Siena
- April 2016, Arsenale Cinema, Pisa, debate with the author
- March 12 2016, Al Ard Doc Film Festival, Cineteca Sarda, Cagliari
- February 6 2016 7° Premio Stefano Chiarini La Tenda, Modena
- December 4 2015 Uomini come voi Aula Magna del Rettorato, Siena, organized by Link Siena, University of Siena
- November 26 2015 War and peace: understanding and addressing the conflict
London Kingston University, School of Psychology Criminology and Sociology, organized by the Department of Psychology
- November 5 2015, P21 gallery, London, debate with director Franca Marini, moderated by journalist Amelia Smith
- October 30 2015 Confini / Borders Visionaria International Film Festival, special event
Teatro Alfieri, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Siena
- September 12 2015 Casa Internazionale delle Donne, Rome
A dream in Gaza one year after the massacre known as Operation Protective Edge organized by Cultura è Libertà
debate with th the artist and Meri Calvelli - Italian Center for Cultural Exchange of Gaza VIK
- August 22 2015 Complesso Museale Santa Maria della Scala di Siena
A dream in Gaza one year after Operation Protective Edge, Israel's most recent military offensive in the Gaza Strip
debate with th the artist, Francesco Andreini - Assopace Palestina -
and Meri Calvelli - Italian Center for Cultural Exchange of Gaza VIK
- August 1 2105, Khalim Sakakini Cultural Center, Ramallah, Palestine, debate with the artist
- May 14, 2015 Al Aqsa University, Gaza Strip, Palestine
Cosa es lo humano? (2010)
- July 14 2012 Le notti dell’Archeologia – Archeofest Cetona
Museo Civico per la Preistoria del Monte Cetona, curated by Maria Teresa Cuda
presentation by Antonio Locafaro and Franca Marini, new version with music by Prada & Soragna
- November 21 2010 SonoMACLab Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
curated by Andrés Lugo, live performance by Trili music ensemble
Urban Lines (2008)
- January 26 2017 the metropolis and the artist - The collective and social dimension of the city told by an artist
Le Stanze della Memoria, Siena, debate with artist Franca Marini, prof. Bernardina Sani and arch. Marina Gennari
Centro Mara Meoni, Istituto Storico della Resistenza senese e dell'Età Contemporanea (ISRSEC)
- September 10/16 2009 Universal Language Queens College Art Center, New York, presentation by Franca Marini
- February 20 2009 FuturismoistarteaSiena – Mattinatafuturista Istituto Statale d’Arte Duccio di Buoninsegna, Siena
curated by Fabio Mazzieri, presentation by Esther Biancotti
- January 21 2009 franca marini urban lines Palazzo San Galgano, Siena
SanGalganoSquare, series of contemporary art exhibitions curated by Massimo Bignardi
Università degli Studi di Siena, chair of Contemporary Art History, presentation by Esther Biancotti
- October 22 2008 ENS Siena Space and Communication conference, Siena School of Liberal Arts Annual Conference
video-sound installation with sculptural works by artist Joe Smith
SELECTED ONE PERSON EXHIBITIONS / ART INSTALLATIONS
| 2023 | Promised Lands railway underpass of Sinalunga (Siena) permanent site-specific artwork SFS - THE INDEPENDENT PROJECT - MAXXI curated by Gianni Lillo |
| 2022 | Blood Red University of Siena, department of Political and International Science art installation created for the event BETWEEN GENDER VIOLENCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS December 5 2022 |
| The Justice Siena Civil Court, permanent site-specific artwork | |
| 2021 | Walls The Pilgrim’s Garden, Monteriggioni (Siena), Italy art installation realized in collaboration with Kirikuci nonprofit migrants tailor shop on site: June 2021-July 2023 |
| 2019 | Chiaroscuro – Leonardo, artista contemporaneo La Tinaia, Sovicille ( Siena) on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci art installation created in interaction with the performance by Motus dance company |
| 2019 | Transnational Migration and Immigration – E-Words project art installation, University of Siena, department of Political and International Science |
| 2018 | Transnational Migration and Immigration - non ho paura dell’uomo nero (I do not fear the black man) multimedia art installation, Scuola Permanente dell’Abitare, Ocra Montalcino (Siena) |
| Transnational migration and immigration Human Rights Institute at Kean University, Union, N.J. USA multimedia art installation, Neil Tetkowski, curator |
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| 2017 | Visions from the metropolis – an artistic research between urban life and early renaissance imagery Karl and Helen Burger Gallery, kean University, Union, N.J., Neil Tetkowski, curator |
| 2009 | Universal Language Queens College Art Center, New York, "The Poetics of Transculture" art installation, Tara Mathison, curator, catalogue |
| francamariniurbanlines Palazzo San Galgano, Siena, SanGalganoSquare contemporary art exhibition series art installation, Massimo Bignardi, curator Università degli Studi di Siena, Chair of Contemporary Art History sponsored by Siena Local Council Department of Culture, exhibition coordination by Esther Biancotti |
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| 2008 | Urban Lines StudioArteFuoriCentro, Rome video-sound installation, Ivana D’Agostino, curator, catalogue |
| 2007 | From painting to images 234 gallery, Buffalo State College, State University of New York, Buffalo art installation |
| 2005 | Reconstrucción en rojo Nuevas Obras Galería Nacional, San José, Costa Rica, Rolando Castellón, curator, catalogue |
| 2001 | Sogno di un nuovo mondo - opere recenti, Museo dell’Antica Grancia, Centro Civico per l’Arte Contemporanea La Grancia Serre di Rapolano (Siena), catalogue |
| 1999 | Galleria Tornabuoni Florence |
| 1996 | The Interior Landscapes Elizabeth Harris Gallery, New York, catalogue |
| 1995 | Kafka Gallery, New York |
| 1989 | Diciannove giovani artisti Museo Civico, Colle di Val d’Elsa (Siena), Enrico Crispolti, curator, catalogue |
| Lick-Wilmerding Gallery, San Francisco | |
| 1988 | Galleria Bastione di Sapia, Colle Val d'Elsa ( Siena), Giovanni Pala, curator |
TWO AND THREE PERSON EXHIBITIONS
| 1988 | San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery, San Francisco |
| 1995 | 479 Gallery (two person show), New York |
| 1994 | Elizabeth Harris Gallery, New York |
| 1992 | San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery, San Francisco |
| Seraphine Gallery, Englewood, NJ |
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS / ART INSTALLATIONS
| 2022-21 | Bestie Color di Carta in tribute to Federigo Tozzi Biblioteca e Fototeca Giuliano Briganti, Complesso Museale Santa Maria della Scala, Siena Fabio Mazzieri and Beatrice Pulcinelli, curators |
| 2019 | KOSÌ il bene comune 2 Korea-Siena Complesso San Marco, Siena, Fabio Mazzieri, curator |
| 2018 | Fortezza Aperta. New York – Siena. Artisti a confronto Fortezza Medicea- Bastione Madonna, Siena art installation, Fabio Mazzieri, curator |
| Librartis a Siena Mostra Itinerante Internazionale del Libro d’Artista Biblioteca e Fototeca Giuliano Briganti, Santa Maria della Scala Museum, Siena Fabio Mazzieri, curator |
|
| 2016-17 | libertà delle memorie Le Stanze della Memoria Istituto Storico della Resistenza senese e dell'Età Contemporanea (ISRSEC), Siena multimedia art installation, Fabio Mazzieri, curator |
| 2016 | Librartis Artist Books You Can Touch Czurles-Nelson Gallery at SUNY BUffalo State, Fabio Mazzieri, curator |
| Librartis Artist Books You Can Touch Northern Kentucky University Art Galleries, Highland Heights, KY Fabio Mazzieri, curator |
|
| 2015 | Librartis Artist Books You Can Touch Burger Gallery, kean University, Union, NJ, Fabio Mazzieri, curator |
| 2014 | Brujas pero tambien brujos Aglutinador - Brücke, Havana, Sandra Ceballos, curator |
| Gestos Mary Chacon Contemporáneo, San José, Costa Rica, Collección Rolando Castellón | |
| 2013 | 3rd International ArtBook Fair Studio E-5 Cubberley Studios, Palo Alto, CA, Rolando Castellón, curator |
| Il fine dell’arte? Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Chiusi, Antonio Locafaro, curator | |
| 2012 | Giornate Europee Del Patrimonio Museo dell’Antica Grancia, Serre di Rapolano (Siena) Museo Civico Archeologico e d’Arte Sacra, Asciano (Siena) Fondazioni Musei Senesi, Siena Art Institute |
| 2012-11 | De Colección Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo (MADC) San José, Costa Rica, María José Chavarría, curator |
| 2011 | TEXT-o-&-figure Fabula Urbis, Lisbon / Centro Alfredo Pinheiro, Cascais (Lisbon), Rolando Castellón, curator |
| 2010 | TEXT-o-&-figure Galería Nacional, San José, Costa Rica / Meridian Gallery, San Francisco, Rolando Castellón, curator |
| 2009 | Terracotta in public and private collections Museo della Terracotta, Petroio (Siena) |
| 2008 | Segni/Disegni StudioArteFuoriCentro, Rome |
| 2004 | Ad occhi aperti Studio Hyunnart, Rome |
| 2003 | Charles Chamot Gallery, New Jersey, NJ |
| Grabar – Grabando, Galería Nacional, San José, Costa Rica, Rolando Castellón, curator | |
| 2000 | Galleria Didee Arte Comtemporanea, Siena |
| 1999 | Galleria Didee Arte Comtemporanea, Siena |
| 1998 | Stephen Gang Gallery, New York |
| 1995 | All the world in a painting Trans Hudson Gallery, Jersey City, NJ |
| 1994 | Blondies Contemporary Art, New York |
| 1993 | Painting Center, New York |
| Seraphine Gallery, Englewood, NJ |
|
| 1992 | The Columbus Boat Show Elsa Mott Ives Gallery, New York, Paul Bridgewater and Laura Kruger, curators |
| Rachael Freedman Contemporary Fine Arts, New York | |
| 1991 | Yerba Buena Gardens Cultural Center, San Francisco, Rolando Castellón, curator, brochure |
| 1990 | The Soul Minus Zero Gallery, Los Angeles |
| Freedom: a personal statement Grounds For The Arts Gallery, San Geronimo, CA | |
| 1989 | Dream Reality Doma Gallery, New York |
| 1985 | Una nuovissima generazione dell’arte italiana Fortezza Medicea Siena, Enrico Crispolti, curator, brochure |
| Piero della Francesca, il lavoro interpretato Sala Comunale d’Arte Moderna, Sansepolcro (Arezzo) Teatro Comunale, Monterchi, (Arezzo), Logge del Vasari (Arezzo), Mariano Apa, curator, catalogue |
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| 1984 | L’arte del vedere Palazzo Corsini, Albano Laziale (Rome), Mariano Apa, curator, catalogue |
| La visitazione rivisitata Biblioteca Comunale “Aldo Palazzeschi", Carmignano (Florence) Mariano Apa, curator, catalogue |
CRITICISM/PRESS
| 2015 | Grieco, Sonia. GAZA. Fahid sogna la libertà video-intervista in Nena News, September 14 http://nena-news.it/gaza-fahid-sogna-la-liberta/ |
| 2009 | Mathison, Tara. The Trifecta of Franca Marini in “Franca Marini Universal Language" catalogue exhibition, New York Queens College Art Center, Carlo Cambi Editore, Siena, 2009, p. 8 |
| Morgan, C.Robert. The Transformation of Desire: A New Installation by Franca Marini in “Franca Marini Universal Language" catalogue exhibition, New York, Queens College Art Center, Carlo Cambi Editore, Siena, 2009, pp.38-41 | |
| Biancotti, Esther. franca marini urban lines exhibition presentation text, Siena, Palazzo San Galgano Università degli Studi di Siena |
|
| 2008 | Maestrini, Giulia. Franca Marini, da Siena a New York sulle tracce delle “Urban Lines” in “La Nazione”, Florence, June 22 Perrone, D. New York, Siena e Roma a confronto nell’opera di Franca Marini in "La Voce" D’Agostino, Ivana. Urban Lines in “Urban Lines” catalogue exhibition, Rome, StudioArteFuoriCentro |
| 2007 | Maestrini, Giulia. Il sogno americano di Franca. Da Siena alla University of New York in “La Nazione” Florence, November 11 |
| 2005 | Maestrini, Giulia. Torna a splendere il teatro della Grancia. Con un’opera d’arte in “La Nazione”, Florence, October 28 Coccoli, Donatella. Personale di Franca Marini in Costa Rica in “Corriere di Siena”, Siena, September 22 Herrera, Sofia. Qué tienen en común un coreano y una italiana? in “La Repubblica”, San José, Costa Rica, September 18 Molina, Dunia. Nuevas Obras de Franca Marini in ” Reconstrucción en rojo Nuevas Obras” catalogue exhibition San José, Costa Rica, Galería Nacional, pp. 8-9 |
| Bandini, Silvia / Biancotti, Esther. Palabras Aladas in ” Reconstrucción en rojo Nuevas Obras”, catalogue exhibition San José, Costa Rica, Galería Nacional, pp. 30-39 |
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| 2001 | Iannello, Riccardo. Racconto pittorico di un mondo da sogno in “La Nazione”, Florence, August 21 Tonelli, Massimiliano. Franca Marini – Sogno di un nuovo mondo in Exibart July 26 Savelli, Anna. Quel mondo nuovo sognato sulle tele in “Corriere di Siena”, Siena, July 21 Coccoli, Donatella. Sogno di un nuovo mondo - opere di Franca Marini in “De - sign”, Modena, July – September, pp. 40-41 |
| Fargnoli, Domenico. Sogno di un nuovo mondo in “Sogno di un nuovo mondo - opere recenti” catalogue exhibition Serre di Rapolano (Siena), Museo dell’Antica Grancia, pp.5-9 |
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| Panzera, Annamaria. The sense of things. Some notes on Franca Marini’s paintings in “Sogno di un nuovo mondo – opere recenti” catalogue exhibition, Serre di Rapolano (Siena), Museo dell’Antica Grancia, pp. 33-37 | |
| Piersimoni, Cristina. The voice of silence in “Sogno di un nuovo mondo - opere recenti” catalogue exhibition Serre di Rapolano (Siena), Museo dell’Antica Grancia, pp. 43-46 |
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| 1996 | Morgan, Robert. The Interior Landscapes in catalogue exhibition, New York, Elizabeth Harris Gallery |
| 1991 | Castellón, Rolando. New Paintings by Franca Marini in brochure exhibition, San Francisco Yerba Buena Gardens Cultural Center |
| 1989 | Piersimoni, Cristina. Le materie vive di Pala e Marini in “N.C. Nuovo Corriere”, Siena, August 23 Coletti, Antonella. L’Arte di due giovani pittori: un rapporto diverso con la natura in “Il Campo di Siena”, Siena, April 8 Magni, Grazia. “Diciannove giovani artisti” catalogue exhibition, Colle di Val d’Elsa (Siena), Museo Civico, p. 36 ill. |
| 1985 | Apa, Mariano. Piero della Francesca. L’opera interpretata catalogue exhibition Sansepolcro (Arezzo), Sala Comunale d’Arte Moderna, Monterchi, (Arezzo) Teatro Comunale, Arezzo, Logge del Vasari p. 34 ill. |
| 1984 | Apa, Mariano. La Visitazione rivisitata catalogue exhibition, Carmignano (Florence) Biblioteca Comunale “Aldo Palazzeschi”, p. 8 |
| Apa, Mariano. L’arte del vedere catalogue exhibition, Albano Laziale (Rome), Palazzo Corsini, p. 11 |
LECTURES
| 2023 | UPTER Rome, January 27 Inernational Holocaust Remembrance Day IPEAH informal Partecipatory Education on Antisemitism and Holocaust KNOWLEDGE, MEMORY and HUMAN RIGHTS lecturer on "Art, Memory and Human Rights" |
| 2019 | Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts (IDSVA), Spannocchia (Siena), guest lecturer on her work |
| 2018 | Brandeis University Waltham, MA, guest lecturer on her work |
| 2017 | Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts (IDSVA), Spannocchia (Siena), guest lecturer on her work |
| 2015 | Al Aqsa University / The Italian Center for Cultural Exchange Gaza Strip, Palestine, lecturer on her work |
| 2007 | Buffalo State College State University of New York, visiting artist lecturer on her work |
| 2005 | Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica San José, Costa Rica, guest lecturer on her work |
| 2003 | Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera Milan, guest lecturer on her work |
| 2000 | American University, Corciano (Perugia), guest lecturer on her work |
| 1993 | The City College (CUNY), New York, guest lecturer on “The influences of 14th and 15th century Sienese painting on the art of a contemporary Italian painter” |
SOCIO-CULTURAL ART PROJECTS
| 2014-15 Italy-GazaStrip Festival social cultural exchange project Al-Aqsa University, Gaza Strip, Palestine organized by the Italian Center for Cultural Exchange VIK of Gaza |
| 2014-18 Arci Carretera Central e ARCS Culture Solidali project, La Habana: Santa Fè, rafforzamento dei servizi socio culturali per lo sviluppo comunitario |
VISITING ARTIST PROJECTS /ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROJECTS
| 2007 | Buffalo State College State University of New York, visiting artist project |
| 1998 | Metropolitan Montessori School, New York Artist of the Month - for the month of May, artist in residence project |
GRANTS AND AWARDS
| 1998 | New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), fellowship recipient for painting |
PUBLIC ARTWORKS
| 2022 | The Justice Siena Civil Court |
| 2016 | Liberazione Stanze della Memoria, Istituto Storico della Resistenza Senese e dell' Età Contemporanea, Siena |
| 2009-10 | Pinocchio and the doctors Pediatrics Department of Siena University Hospital “Le Scotte”, Siena |
| 2006-09 | Birth with color P.zza G. Amendola, Siena |
| 2005 | Theatrical representation Grancia di Montisi Theatre, Montisi (Siena) |
MUSEUM AND PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Biblioteca e Fototeca Giuliano Briganti Santa Maria della Scala Museum, Siena
Kean University Union, N.J.
Le Stanze della Memoria, Istituto Storico della Resistenza Senese e dell'Età Contemporanea (ISRSEC), Siena
Biblioteca Comunale degli Intronati Siena
Museo della Terracotta Petroio (Siena)
Istituto Statale d’Arte Duccio di Buoninsegna di Siena
Buffalo State College State University of New York, Buffalo
Scuola di Specializzazione in Storia dell’Arte Università degli Studi di Siena
Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo (MADC) San José, Costa Rica
Museo di Arte Contemporanea Italiana in America San Josè, Costa Rica
Galería Nacional San José, Costa Rica
Centro Civico per l’Arte Contemporanea La Grancia Serre di Rapolano (Siena)
The Museum of Art and Origins New York
The Appleton Museum of Art Ocala’s Fine Art Museum, Florida
Provveditorato agli Studi di Siena (Istituto Statale d’Arte Duccio di Buoninsegna di Siena collection)
TEACHING
| 2009-23 | Siena School for Liberal Arts / Siena Art Institute, painting instructor |
| 2020-21 | Siena Experience Italian Hub, painting instructor |
| 2016-21 | Brandeis in Siena Summer Program in partnership with Brandeis University and the Siena Art Institute painting instructor |
| 1999-2016 | SUNY Siena Program of the Buffalo State College of New York, painting instructor |
| 2006-07 | Studio Art Centers International (SACI), Florence, painting instructor |
| 2003-05 | Istituto Statale d’Arte Duccio di Buoninsegna Siena, painting instructor |
| 1991-92 | The League School Brooklyn, New York volunteer painting instructor for emotionally challenged elementary and high school students |
| 1990 | Youth Guidance Center San Francisco, art project coordinator with juvenile delinquents |