Background
Bartolini was born in Fiesole, Italy, on July 23, 1948.
Bartolini was born in Fiesole, Italy, on July 23, 1948.
Luciano Bartolini did not attend art school. In his youth, the artist dedicated himself mainly to the knowledge and learning of languages.
Starting from 1971 Bartolini travelled widely in Asia, particularly in India and Nepal. These travels influenced his artworks significantly.
In 1974 the artist started his Kleenex series, using wrapping paper and Kleenex tissues glued together to form his regular patterns. The same year his first solo exhibition took place, held at the Palazzo Comunale in Stia, near Florence. In 1975, he had an important solo show at the Galleria Françoise Lambert in Milan. In this period, Bartolini also realized the first Cartepaglie, handmade cards.
In 1977 he held a one-man show at the Galleria Françoise Lambert in Milan entitled Pensando all'Oriente (Thinking about the Orient). From that moment on, he started to use gold in his works, which became typical and recurrent in Bartolini's artworks. In 1977 he made the exhibition The Pearl Mosque, which would then be showed the following year on the occasion of the solo show at Galleria Paul Maenz in Cologne. This particular type of shows later became a typical selection of Bartolini in the following exhibitions.
He also began to produce numerous artist’s books: one of these, entitled Sogni, ombre is especially significant. In 1980 he spent the summer on the Greek island of Santorini, where he began to develop an important new theme of Atlantis. In 1981 he took part in the following collective shows: Books by Artists at the Art Metropole in Toronto; Linee della ricerca artistica in Italia, 1960/1980 (The Lines of Artistic Research in Italy, 1960-1980) at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome; La memoria, l'inconscio (The Memory, The Unconscious) at the Studio La Torre in Pistoia; etc.
In 1982 Luciano Bartolini visited Mount Athos. The same year he published the artist book: Looking into the Heart of Light, the Silence. The Simendron, the gong used by the monks, would become the most recurrent motif, especially during his stay in Berlin (1983), where he held an important solo exhibition at the Nationalgalerie.
In 1986 he started to work on a new series called Kosmische Visionen. This cycle led to several other series: Alberi (1988), Ascensioni (1989) and Foresta di vetro, small works made mainly of sandpaper. In 1989 he held a one-man show entitled Giano, la foresta, il tempo (Giano, The Forest, The Time). In 1990 he began a new series of works, dedicated to the horizontal plane and entitled Emblematische Blumen. It was followed by the series O sporos (seeds).
From April to May 1993, Luciano Bartolini held a solo show at Lorenzelli Arte in Milan, entitled Soffi di luce (Puffs of Light).
Untitled
Al volo
Alberello
Berliner Raga 5
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Pagina fiorentina O
Albero
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Spazi interiori
L'albero sefirotico
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Atlantis
unknown title
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Inner Space
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Forest
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Klang
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Asterione
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Kleenex
Berliner Raga 6
Composition
Kleenex
Berliner Raga 3
Composition
Arianna & Pitagora
Klang (Rosso)
Berliner Raga 2
Dyptique
Composition
Inner Space
Berliner Raga I
Inner Space
Foresta interiore
Inner Space
Untitled
Berliner Raga 4