BIOGRAPHY
‘Inspiration comes from everything: having traveled the world and stayed in beautiful hotels, elegant restaurants, regularly invited to fashion shows… all this inspires me’
Born in Locarno, Switzerland in 1992, Milan-based artist Andrea Valsecchi is a masterful marble sculptor who brings a unique fusion of classical artistry and contemporary culture to the world of sculpture.
His desire to be surrounded by beautiful things led him at the age of 20 to move to Milano, the same city that had inspired him since he was small, where he started studying Fashion Styling at the renowned Istituto Marangoni. The city deeply influenced him: every corner was filled with design, fashion and creativity. He felt free to express himself.
Later on he worked as an Interior Decorator for diverse clients and architects. At the age of 26 he designed a ‘Home Collection’ featuring colorful accessories and furniture, entirely handmade in Marble for his family’s business (Switzerland’s oldest Marble and Luxury Stone Company, over 100 years). His Collection was featured in numerous Magazines such as Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest and Il Corriere Della Sera. A capsule collection was exclusively sold by Westwing.
In 2023 Andrea merged his two passions: Marble and luxury Handbags. His motto is: ‘Attention to details is not a detail.’ The outcome is a one-of-a-kind Piece of Art. The Atelier is able to customize the sculptures according to the client’s wish, making it exclusive and unique – just like the client who will own it.
The artist comes from a rich lineage of marble artisans with a family heritage spanning over a century in this venerable tradition. Growing up amidst the dust and echoes of the sculptors’ studios, Valsecchi was immersed in the tactile world of marble from an early age. Fascinatingly, Valsecchi’s artistic journey took an unexpected twist as he found inspiration in the world of high fashion.Guided by the profound knowledge and techniques passed down through generations, and his fascination with iconic designer handbags, he honed his innate talents and embarked on a pioneering path to create exquisite marble sculptures that capture the essence of luxury and elegance. His exceptional talent as a marble sculptor finds a brilliant intersection with the spirit of Pop Art, as he ingeniously translates iconic designer handbags into marble masterpieces, transforming these symbols of contemporary style into timeless monuments. In this seamless fusion of classical craftsmanship with the refined kitsch of Warhol or Koons, Valsecchi’s handbag sculptures emerge as vibrant, larger-than-life manifestations of popular culture.
His handbag sculptures, exquisite in form and cultural significance, summon viewers into a multilayered semiotic terrain where the classical meets the contemporary, and the ordinary sublimates into the iconic. With his keen eye for detail and a deep understanding of form, he meticulously carves out each stitch, clasp, and embellishment, rendering the marble as soft as satin and as captivating as the most coveted accessories. The sculptures are perfect in every detail (from the hardware down to the stitching – which he knows very well since he’s a collector himself) and they are entirely made by hand by skilled Artisans with a long-lasting artisanal craftsmanship tradition and Savoir-faire.
In traversing the realms of fashion and fine art, Andrea Valsecchi’s sculptural oeuvre manifests as a compelling narrative of cultural production, imbuing our material milieu with enduring aesthetic resonance. By elevating these everyday objects to the realm of fine art, he not only captures the zeitgeist of modern society but also invites viewers to contemplate the fluid boundaries between art, commerce, and everyday life.
EXHIBITIONS:
WOS ART GALLERY – ZURICH
FRIEDRICHS PONTONE – NEW YORK
GALLERIA SACCHETTI – ASCONA
FAIRS:
ART KARLSRUHE (May 2023) – GERMANY
INTERSECT ASPEN (August 2023) – USA
ART MIAMI (December 2023) – USA
ART PALM BEACH (January 2024) – USA
ART KARLSRUHE (February 2024) – GERMANY
ART SALON ZURICH (October 2024) – CH
