About Me

Annamaria Gelmi was born in Trento, where she currently lives and works.

She studied at the Art institute in Trento, at the Brera Accademy in Milan with Cantatore and at the Venice Accademy with Saetti.

She held her first exhibition in Bolzano at theGo Homeof 1968. At that time she started to work with materials like plexiglas, methacrylate and other plastics. As a result she forged works that played with transparency and to others, consisting in large acetate sheets with basic geometric shapes drawn upon them with indian ink that projected shadows while hanging in a room, involving the surrounding space. Of this period are the writings by U. Appolonio, S. Branzi, B. D’Amore, L. Serravalli, A. Veca and the solo exhibitions in galleries like Il Traghetto – Venezia, Pancheri – Rovereto, Studio SM13 – Rome,Arte Struktura – Milan, Tardy Enschede – Holland, Indiano Grafica – Florence, Spatia – Bolzano. In 1975 she participated at the exibition curated by G.C. Argan Mostra internazionale luce materia: il metacrilico nell’arte in Milan.

In 1978 she was invited to Murano for a residency. There she shaped glass together with the master glaziers, creating various works.

In the early ’80s she pulled back from essencially black and white minimalist works in order to use color. The works that connote this period are memories of history, fragments of classic architectures like colums, pediments, labyrints, all drawn on Japanese paper.

Of this period are the writings by F. Gualdoni, M. Meneguzzo, G. Belli, D. Eccher, F. Gallo, F. Vincitorio and the solo exhibitions in galleries like MART Palazzo delle Albere – Trento, Arte Centro – Milan, Intakt – Vienna, A. Spatia – Bolzano, Studio Foster – Milan, Diamanti’s Palace – Ferrara, Falaschi – Passariano Udine, Studio Argentario – Trento, Hofgarten – Innsbruck.

In the ’90s the architectural elements became just a mark, a symbolic appeal (Perimeter). The colour here is stronger and lets the space be perceived as mental condition of a different vision, an ambiguous and absolute one (Oltre la soglia).

In this period she created iron, stone and brass sculptures/installations (Il giardino dell’altrove, Il labirinto, Mistero Sacro, Il giardino) and the book SKY LINE, which was presented at the 46th international Biennale of Venice. Of this period are the writings by F. Gallo, C. Cerritelli, S. Zanier, E. Schloker, G. Bonomi, F. Gualdoni, V. Coen and the solo exhibitions in museums and galleries like Goethe – Bolzano, Museo Tridentino di Scienze – Trento, MART_ Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Trento’s Civic Gallery and Bolzano’s Museion Intercolummnie. In the same years Gelmi also worked at Malo’s Casa Bianca Museum, at Vicenza’s Rocca Paolina, at Perugia’s Cassa dei Carraresi, Treviso’s Gallery of Contemporary Art “Ai Molini” at Portogruaro and finally at the Italian Culture Institute of Vienna.

Since the year 2000 she has been presenting works made of iron. M. Mojana, F. Batacchi, B. Braun, M. Scudiero, G. Campolieti and E. Pouchard wrote about her. She held exhibitions in public spaces like the SS. Giacomo e Filippo Church – Andora, the Faculty of Theology of the University of Innsbruck, the Italian Institute – Innsbruck and the Studio Lattuada – Milan.

In 2003 she participated at the shows CONSERVATIONin New York, Situazioniat the MART in Rovereto and Cucinarteat the showroom Minoti.

In 2004 she hold solo exhibitions and participated at the group exhibitions like  All’ombra di Bramante(outdoor scuplture) and Foto, Progetti, Disegni at the Extra Moenia gallery – Todi.

In 2005 she held two exhibitions: one at the Hofburg Museum of Innsbruck and the second at the Rocca Pallavicini of Ponticelli d’Oniga near Piacenza entitled Viaggio oltre il reale – Il Labirinto. In 2006 she partecipated at the exhibition Fuori luogo comuneat the Castle of Pergine near Trento and at various simposia in Italy and abroad.

In 2007 she held exhibitions at the Transarte Gallery of Rovereto (Tn);  at the Roccabruna Palace- Trento (Artebianca), at Gallery ExG – Pàlkàne in Finland, at the international Art Exhibition A Day in Mindenin Kakarbhitta – Nepal (curated by Rafique Sulayman).

In 2008 she exhibited at xx912 fabrika (archivio Vinile), at the M.I.M. Museum in San Pietro in Cerro – Piacenza, at the parallel event of Manifesta 7 ACTIONSand at the Biennial of Gubbio. In November of the same year she was invited to the Departament of Sculpture Institute of Fine Arts Dhaka in Bangadlesh

In 2009 she held an exhibition at Hofburg Museum in Innsbruck (Wind and Poppyns).

In 2010 she participated at the exhibitions International Biennial of SculptureCastello di Raconigi Torino, and to show a Book “Dolomiti New York” at the museum MART Rovereto (TN) exhibition InarchitetturaCastello di Rivara.

In 2011 she participated at the exhibition International Biennial of SculptureVilla Torlania in Roma, Dolomiti New York,that was held at Spazio Italia and in Monaco at the European Parliament of Bruxelles, Blak to BlakCastello di Rivara Torino, PretiosaGallery Varart Firenze, La Regola della Mano DestraMuseum MAGI Bologna.

In 2012  kept participating in many different exibitions such as Italia Contemporanea, presentation by Boris Brollo; at Latina – 33 Donne Amorose, by Emanuela Bianchi e Massimo Pompeo; Fidenza Village – Man and Nature Reciprocity; Milano – In rete,  Gallery Transparent, by B. Brollo;  Altare (Sv) – Altare Vetro,  Museo dell’arte vetraria , by M. Chirico e E. L’Acqua; Montegrotto Terme (PD) – International Biennial of Art Books intitoladNon solo libri held at the International Museum of Glass.

In 2013 she participated at the following exhibitions:

Rivara (To) – Equinozio d’autunno, Castello di Rivara, by Franz  Paludetto;

Rovere’ della Luna (Tn), Croci Incroci; Graz (AU)- Frage_Zeichen, Universität Graz; Piegaro (PG), Altare Vetro_ Arte, Museo del vetro di Piegaro; Benevento – Viaggio immaginario, omaggio a Massimo Faccioli, ARCOS Museum of Contemporary art, by Leo Faccioli e Massimo Pompeo; Cavalese (Tn) – “L’immagine terrestre”, Contemporary Art Centre, by Elio Vanzo.

In 2014 she participated to Infinito presente at Trento’s Diocesan Museum organised by Andrea Dall’Asta, Domenica Primerano, Riccarda Turrina and in 2015 she worked at Landeck Castle / Villalagarina at the TRANS-LIMITE exibition; at Verona’s  Opere e libri an exibitionfor the city’s public library curaded by di Chiara Tavella that was later continued in Rome at Rome’s National Gallery. In 2015 Annamaria participated at Piazzola sul Brenta ‘s Biennial of Sculpture in Villa Contarini held by Giuseppe Pin and at Venezia, Zelarino’s La ronda dell`arte, forte Mezzacapo.

In2016 Annamaria created different installations among which an important Oltre il Sacro for the Church of Saint Jacob Innsbruck, curated by G.Larcher; an installation for the Campari Wall gallery in Milan curated by Marina Moyana and finally the work Leukosat the Diocesan Museum of Trento.

In 2017 she worked in Venice and participated with the work Without Land, at the BiennialofArchitecture’s Eventi Collaterali, curated by Boris Brollo.

In the same year she also worked at Trento’s Civic Gallery with the work Almanacco 70 – Architettura e Astrazione, curated by Campomarzio, Margherita de Pilati e Gabriele Lorenzoni and Latina’s Arte a scuola, Inpressione – omaggio a Mirella Bentivoglio, curated by Leonardo Faccioli Massimo Pompeo ans finally at Vicenza’s  Geometrie nello Spazio for the Valmore Studio d’arte.

In 2018 she held personal and coed exhibitions such as: La Vespa nella Storia e nell’Arte for the Macis Museum of Biella curated byMark Bertazzoli Graz,at Austria’s University of Graz in the Facolty of Theology with the work Croci Incroci curated by Hans Walter Raukenbauer and at Riva del Garda’s  ArteForte, curated by Mariella Rossi.

Annamaria started 2019 participating at Lana’s LANAART Sculptures  (Merano) and in Apil of this year she participated with her works at Milan’s art festival  Miartwith the Loom Galley. In the current year she is also participating at Foggia’s Rigorosamente librifor the Biennial of Art Books.

«From here (from the artist’s contemporary experiences) other discourses can be developed. Here we will simply appreciate the fact that it is a woman who paints, without any Romantic overtones» These words really get to the core of Annamaria Gelmi’ artistic aspect. The lack of Romantic elements consists, in my humble opinion, in an extreme simplicity and cleanliness, in a research based on the latest scientific and technological findings, in the negation of the so-called “informal sloppiness”, in the precision of the architectonic structures. She also opposes certain models typical of northern Europe, that are a bit too vague, by following crystal-clear structures that can be clearly defined as Mediterranean. Given her young age, the paintress-sculptress is clearly still at the beginning of her artistic career. Still, this beginning seems promising because Annamaria Gelmi works with seriousness, honesty, stubbornness. Of course, a good amount of stubbornness is required for a woman to overcome the silly prejudice that gives her a different vocation towards arts compared to men. In addition, stubbornness is required to survive and slowly manage to emerge from the ocean of the contemporary mayhem of ideas, fake artists, amateurs, profiteers, patrons, frauds and incompetent or dishonest critics: here I named just some of the main elements in the plankton of this immense sea that is the world of current figurative arts.
Mario Radice
Mostra di Annamaria Gelmi, aprile 1973