thefaacollective

Eye on the Community #1

Added 2021-01-04 19:12:06 +0000 UTC

Happy New Year! And thank you for your support!

We are happy to present you with our first 'Eye on the Community', a newsletter we'll be releasing every couple of months to highlight what our community members are up to - exhibitions, awards, exciting commissions, projects, and more.

Here are a few updates on the exciting recent goings-on within the community of students, graduates, and faculty of The Florence Academy of Art!

ART TALK W/ THOR LARSEN - OLSEN-BANDEN COMMISSION - VIDEO

Thor Larsen, Principal Instructor and graduate of The Florence Academy of Art, has recently been commissioned to create a large-scale public sculpture depicting well-known and beloved characters from the Danish comedy film series 'Olsen-banden' or Olsen Gang.

Click the following link to watch the full video: https://youtu.be/rCa3hpFGu2k

These sculptures, three life-size figures of the main characters in the fictional criminal gang, Egon Olsen, Benny Frandsen, and Kjeld Jensen, will be erected in Valby Tingsted square in Valby, Copenhagen.

This location, in the heart of a neighborhood full of life and culture in the center of the city is also only a couple hundred meters away from the studios where the Olsen-banden films were made!

In this video Thor Larsen takes us through the history of obtaining this commission, and explains his thought process behind making the clay sculptures that will eventually be cast in bronze. He took detailed care to ensure that the figures represent the characters that are so well known from their 14 films, including depicting their personalities and quirks through their facial expressions and body language. Larsen also explains different tools and techniques used to create realistic and original works in clay.

Although there will only be one final edition of the three life-size figures in bronze, there is an incredible initiative to promote and help fund the project and for fans of the series to take a piece of it home with them.

In order to better conceptualize the figures in a visual sense, Larsen created macquettes of each character, and these macquettes, smaller-scaled 3d versions of the larger sculptures, will be cast in limited editions of 100 in resin and 8 in bronze and available to buy!

To learn more about Thor Larsen, this project, and to view his work please visit the links below:

www.thorlarsen.net

www.facebook.com/thorlarsensculptor

www.instagram.com/thor_sculp_thor

www.florenceacademyofart.com/alumni-gallery/thor-larsen

A special thanks to Henrik Hansen, project manager on the statues of Olsen Gang.

Recent Graduates Exhibition

Click this link to see the show: https://www.florenceacademyofart.com/recent-graduates-painters-and-sculptors-of-2018-2019/

Some of the best recent work of alumni of The Florence Academy of Art from the classes of 2018 and 2019 is available to view in a new online exhibition in our gallery 'Recent Graduates: Painters and Sculptors of 2018 & 2019'.

New Graduates of 2020!

Despite the difficulties of the past year, we are beyond proud to congratulate our graduates in Painting and Sculpture of 2020, who persevered and completed their studies in Florence and Sweden!

Keep an eye on the FAA’s social media for images of their work created this past fall term, and for future work coming from all our alumni! Special recognition goes to Florence graduates Jana Büettner from the Sculpture Program and Adrienne van Summern from the Painting Program.

Jana's life-size figure “Light Ray” was named the best sculpture of the year, and Adrienne received a special award for her all around exceptional performance throughout the year.

Adrienne van Summern's final project.

Jana Büettner's final project, 'Light ray'.

15th ARC Salon Finalists

A leader in the revival of realism in the visual arts, Art Renewal Center (ARC), hosts one of the largest online collections dedicated to representational art, with works by the old masters and 19th, 20th and 21st century artists, along with articles, essays and other resources.

The International ARC Salon, with its live and online exhibitions, is also the largest in terms of entries, categories and international participation. Its substantial cash awards ($130,000 in prizes) and international partnerships with prestigious magazines, galleries and museums, makes the Salon an influential and far reaching competition for contemporary realists.

Erica Arcudi

'Autoritratto'

48x66cm

Charcoal and white chalk on toned paper

(2019)

So many of our graduates, students, and faculty were selected as finalists in the 15th edition of the International ARC Salon! Below is a list of FAA finalists. Congratulations!

To view all of the finalists please visit https://www.artrenewal.org/salon/finalists

Images of all of the semi-finalists along with finalists, honorable mentions, and winners will be posted on January 13th on the ARC website.

Melissa Franklin Sanchez (Italy)

Erica Arcudi (United States)

Troy Argyros (Australia)

Eirik Arnesen (Norway)

Ruchi Arora (India)

Jana Büttner (Germany)

Chanel Cha (Canada)

Jordi Diaz Alama (Spain)

Gowen Dicker (United States)

Sarah-Margaret Gibson (United Kingdom)

Dr Gindi (Switzerland)

Adrian Gottlieb (United States)

Richard Greathouse (United States)

Philip Hedgecock (United Kingdom)

Hubert Malter (Austria)

Erin McCarthy (United States)

Carla Paine (United States)

Tanvi Pathare (Italy)

Florence Remÿ (France)

Sandeep Krishnan Sabu (Italy)

Anil Surendran (United Kingdom)

Toby Wright (Monaco)

Dana Zaltzman (Israel)

Interview with Daniel Graves, FAA Founder & Director

Available at the link below is a three-part interview of Daniel Graves by Emilio Longo, founder and director of Skill-Based Art: A Learning Resource for Art Students & Artist-Teachers.

Click here to listen to the podcast: https://skillbasedart.weebly.com/podcasts.html

In this almost 7 hours long, in-depth interview Daniel discusses a range of topics "from Daniel’s journey discovering pieces of the lost tradition through artist-teachers who include, Frank Russell, Joseph Shepard, Richard Serrin, Richard Lack and Pietro Annigoni, as well as the early beginnings of the Florence Academy of Art and the stories involved with the many students and teachers who Daniel encountered along the way.

Information regarding Daniel’s philosophy on art, teaching, culture and beauty are shared as well as the evolution of his drawing and painting over the years. Further to this, Daniel also shares what he has planned for the future of his school and his advice for the next generation of realist painters and sculptors.”