Venceslao Mascia is an Italian figurative sculptor whose work attempts to investigate the mystery of life and the existence of soul in art. Imbued with the irrepressible energy of matter as well as the duality between heaviness and lightness of form, Mascia’s works explore the material and visceral shaping of the human form in many abstracted iterations that seek to touch on the eternal, yet unanswerable question of who we are and where we came from. By finding the essence of man in the ever not-composed raw matter of stone and metal, he creates and cultivates his art as a spiritual practice.

Fascinated at a young age by the work of his uncle, who was also a sculptor, Mascia began experimenting and by the age of ten had crafted his first completed sculpture in his uncle’s workshop. Following a stint of military service, he ventured to Milan to learn the working of precious metals before returning to Sardinia to open his own goldsmith’s workshop, which he worked alongside his artistic practice. Due to the spirituality of his work, as well as his skill with precious metals and jewelry, his work is popular with the clergy and is commissioned to create many sacred objects for the church, including a sculpture made for Pope John Paul II.  Mascia is a former student of Arnaldo Pomodoro, the highly recognized Italian sculptor who designed the fiberglass crucifix for the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Meet Venceslao Mascia during his opening reception on June 6, 2019 from 6 pm - 8 pm.