Francesca Leone

Biography

Francesca Leone (b. 1964, Italy) is an Italian painter and sculptor based in Rome. Born in a family of artists and the child of filmmaker Sergio Leone, Leone studied under Professor Lino Tardia. Best known for her multimedia sculptures and artworks, Leone’s practice revolves around repurposing items such as reclaimed metal sheets, reinforced concrete, and waste items such as bus tickets and cigarette stubs into sculptures that express themes of memory, time, transformation, and sustainability.

Leone’s works suggest a new relationship with materials including metal and concrete that is no longer extractive, but restorative. These works invite the viewer to contemplate the damage done to these materials, and how Leone has restored them to recreate natural forms such as flowers, the sky, and caves. In 2022, Leone held a solo exhibition, “Take Your Time” as a collateral event to the 59th Venice Biennale. The installation encouraged viewers to move in a space suspended between between earthly and cosmic dimensions. Leone’s recent series of roses are made in different sizes using metal sheets found in abandoned construction sites or buildings. Unfolding in different layers, Leone reveals the lacerations and rust of the materials, as if they were signs of aging in the flowers themselves.

In 2024, Leone received the Art Award: Female Sostantive from the A3M Association – Friends of Modern Art in Valle Giulia, which celebrates the commitment of women in art and in shaping the cultural landscape.

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Works