INTERVIEW
Severino Braccialarghe takes the road less travelled
Cape Town Today speaks to Italian sculptor
Severino Braccialarghe about life and his latest
creations.
In his lifetime Italian born Severino Braccialarghe has been
an architect, interior designer, world traveller and
bronze and marble sculptor. While on holiday in Crete in
the early 70’s he saw a newspaper advertisement for
architects in South Africa. Looking for new opportunities
and also due to the political climate in Italy, he decided
to take the leap and arrived in Johannesburg for the first
time in 1974.
After a successful career in architecture,
stints in Swaziland and Argentina, Severino returned to
South Africa and came to Cape Town for the first time.
During this time he rediscovered his love for art, quit
his job and went back to art school for a year. This was
followed by an 18 month stint in Italy in the tiny village
of Pietrasanta, birthplace of marble sculpting.
Since then Severino has
created numerous abstract bronze and marble sculptures,
ranging from 5 ton installations to figurine-sized
sculptures. He finds inspiration from “ just walking
around, seeing people, shops, the atmosphere – it is so
vibrant (in Cape Town)”.
Severino
prefers marble to bronze. “Marble is sculpting, bronze is
modelling”, He says. “You create a wax model, take it to
the foundry and they do the rest. Everybody is working on
the piece except you”.
For his marble sculptures
Severino uses marble from both Italy and Namaqualand,
which differs greatly in colour and grain. Italian marble
is much lighter and has a finer grain, while South African
marble is darker with a rougher grain.
In
2000 Severino added a third dimension to his artistic
repertoire: Functional Art. He started reviewing unique
imbuia furniture he designed in Italy during 1992/93 and
then created limited numbers of artistic furniture built
from steel, beechwood and glass.
Severino’s art is priced from
R2900 to over R20 000, depending on the size. He also
creates art on commission and collaborates with architects
and interior designer to create water features, murals and
sculptures.
To see more of Severino’s art
visit his
website or contact him on 082 960 2898
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