Bruno Ceccobelli (Montecastello Vibio 1952)

Initially turned to conceptual research and body art, in the early 1980s he was one of the founders of the "Via degli Ausoni Group" in Rome, a group of artists that wasn’t homogeneous, united only by the choice to collectively occupy the spaces of the ancient Pastificio Cerere, with the intention of breaking the stereotype of the isolated and introverted artist. Ceccobelli's work immediately stands out for the combination of different materials and the tendency to organize his creations in large installations that involve all the available space with a mystical and animated background, so much so that he has defined the figure of the artist as "A mystical priest". His research focuses on the way of a pictorial abstraction that, through the recovery of the ready fact and a manipulation of the traditional means of art, reaches a certain spiritual symbolism. In 1985, he felt the need to escape the categorical imperatives of the market and an ever faster and constricting production cycle, directly proportional to the great success achieved in many occasions in Rome, Paris, New York and London. In recent years he has also dedicated himself to making bronze and marble sculptures. In 1999, at the Guastalla Gallery Modern and Contemporary Art in Livorno, he presented the "Trascorsi d’asfalto" exhibition, with a preface by Arturo Schwarz. The close relationship with Galleria Guastalla Centro Arte continues, which in 2005 presents the monographic exhibition entitled Grandi opere, with catalog (linked). A work Omaggio a Modigliani, mixed media on cardboard, is exhibited in the Casa Natale Amedeo Modigliani Livorno.