Rabarama - Biography
Paola Epifani, alias Rabarama, was born in Rome in 1969.
She lives and works in Padova.
The daughter of an artist, from her early childhood she showed an inborn talent for sculpture. She
started her artistic education at the Arts High School in Treviso, and continued later at the Venice
Academy of Fine Arts. She graduated with top marks in 1991 and immediately started taking part
in a large number of national and international sculpture competitions, earning growing acclaim
with both the critics and the general public alike.
1995 was a turning-point for her as it marked the start of her working partnership with the Dante
Vecchiato gallery, important for the development of her future main artistic themes and for her
promotion both in Italy and abroad. From that moment the artist started developing her own
highly personal research, which came from a particular vision of the world and life, based on the
confrontation of free will, the predestination of events and the consequent risk of reduction of
man to a mere biological computer. The artist’s subjects mostly have absent gazes, blanked out by
crystallized research which is conditioned by a world governed purely by cause-effect
relationships, whose common denominator is the standardized programming of the species.
In 2000, at the end of this first phase of her research, the artist exhibited a collection of works at
the Mudima Foundation in Milan; they were created by the awareness that every fragment of
reality and human being bears the imprint of the original principle. From here a humanity which is
in constant metamorphosis rises, where the denial of free will represents just the first phase of a
continuously evolving work The membrane or cloak which seems to envelop these figures
constantly changes and takes on new signs, symbols and metaphors. The alphabet indicates the
internal restriction of language, as well as our singular-plural being (according to the philosopher
Jean-Luc Nancy’s conception, which is a common feature of Pirandello’s theatrical works);
hieroglyphics, jigsaws and honeycombs are the visualization of the genome, the infinite
combinations and possible varieties which are inborn in humanity, visualized in the mental mazes
where the many complex forms of the “ego” materialize.
This symbolic theme was linked to the creation of a monumental sculpture created for the Boca
Raton Museum of Modern Art in Florida, which was installed in 2001.
During this period, the artist moves on from her research into DNA and genetics; her figures,
which previously had shown no aspirations whatsoever and had just conveyed a status quo,
undergo a further metamorphosis; they rip off the skin-wrapping they had been covered in from
the beginning, symbolizing the need to cast off their casing, in the relentless attempt to free
themselves, an exhausting and never-ending struggle.
The first works belonging to this second experimental phase were exhibited at the end of 2000, at
the Enrico Navarra Gallery in Paris, as part of the Trans-formation exhibition and at S.Ivo alla
Sapienza in Rome.
In 2001 Rabarama’s research focused on a series of monumental sculptures with a highly visual
impact. These works were displayed in public spaces and foundations, such as the Palazzo
Bricherasio Foundation in Turin, the Dolores Olmedo Patio Museum in Mexico City (Mexico), the
Fleury Museum, Lodéve (France), Open 2002, Venice Lido (Venice), the important Beijing
International Art Biennal (China 2003) and the Museums of San Salvatore in Lauro, Rome.
Freedom is achieved by overstepping an ideal boundary, which separates the current condition of
genetic and environmental determination from the past one.
The next stage of Rabarama’s artistic journey consisted in the creation of men-trees covered in
bark and interweaved grass, harking back to the symbiotic, unconscious bond the human race has
with the great “Mother”. Metamorphosis of the shape and aspiration to absolute freedom: these
are the guidelines of this artistic phase.
Rabarama is considered an all-round artist by her critics and most demanding collectors, thanks to
the steady flow of official recognition and awards she has received on the national and
international art scene.
Her production is quite eclectic and varied and includes terracotta sculptures, painted bronze,
pieces in marble and glass, oil paintings, resin inclusions, artistic gold jewels, recent rubber
monotypes and graphic work.
In the past few years a large number of exhibitions have been organized and she has enjoyed
international acclaim; for example in China in 2004, following her participation in the already
mentioned first Chinese Modern Biennale which took place in Beijing, her one-woman exhibition
was displayed in the rooms and gardens of the He Xiangning Art Museum of Shenzen from
February to April; the same exhibition was then taken to the Millennium Monument Art Museum
in Beijing, where the monumental sculpture Bozzolo was presented especially for the occasion. It
was donated to the National Association of Chinese Painters and placed in the Art Museum in
2005 during the Chinese Art Biennal. The same travelling exhibition was then taken to Jinan and
Shanghai.
At the beginning of 2005 the artist exhibited her work at la Estancia Cultural Centre in Caracas,
while in June the prestigious Dutch gallery Etienne & Van Loon (which organizes a number of
cultural events and happenings) invited her for the second time to display her signature
monumental sculptures in the open spaces and along the streets of the town, having already
displayed her work alongside that of famous names such as Jeff Koons.
In June she held a one-woman exhibition at the Fundaciòn Sebastian in Mexico City.
During the summer of 2007, the Identità exhibition was held at Villa Genovese Zerbi in Reggio
Calabria, while in November an unforgettable one-woman exhibition entitled Dream of
Transformation was inaugurated at the Vecchiato Art Galleries in Padua.
In 2008 other important events confirm Rabarama’s international success: in July her
extraordinary participation to the Beijing Biennal and in October Rabarama a Paris, an event in
which wonderful monumental sculptures are exposed in Paris’s most beautiful squares such as
Place de la Sorbonne and Place du Panthéon. In December Rabarama in Mizner Park at the Boca
Raton Museum in Miami opened: the public visiting the park and the museum discovers the charm
and strength of Rabarama’s works.
The charming Saint-Tropez, celebrated town on the sea in Southern France, is the location of the
exhibition Rabarama dans la Presqu’île de Saint-Tropez, thanks to the collaboration between
Vecchiato Art Galleries and the Municipalities of Saint-Tropez, Ramatuelle, Gassin and Grimaud,
from the middle of March to October 2009.
The exhibition involves some important and typical areas of the city and the surrounding territory,
mistery and nature blend together and the sculptures become part of the sweet daily life of the
Côte d’Azur, welcoming, surprising and involving the spectator who discovers, as he goes along, a
path in which strange bronze creatures come to life. Creatures that tear their heavy clothes,
perform amazing acrobatics or reflect under the sun on man’s freedom and on the constant
struggle to escape from a destiny that seems to be inevitably already set.
Now the bandages, the letters, or the jigsaw pieces that cover Rabarama’s creatures like valuable
mosaic become codes that must be interpreted to read the future of each one of us, and at the
same time wrappings to be destroyed to re-conquer our freedom.
In June 2009, Rabarama’s Comes to life important exhibition in Oisterwijk, Netherlands, is carried
out with the collaboration of the Etienne Gallery during Oisterwijk Sculptor 2009, a yearly event to
which just few selected artists are invited. That was an occasion for Rabarama to confirm her role
as one of the protagonists of the event, with her solo exhibition at the Dutch gallery.
The year 2010 witnessed the realization of the ambitious exhibition project named Ubiqua 2010:
Cannes, Orta San Giulio (Novara) and London were the selected cities where our great artist
showed her works.
Prestige, fascination and investment are the characteristics which have identified this ambitious
exhibition venture.
Thirteen works decorated the lively and glamourous Cannes, in conjunction with the famous Film
Festival, for the exhibition “Rabarama sur la Croisette”, from March 30 th to October 28th. Four of
these works, unseen and awaited sculptures in Carrara marble, could be admired directly on the
Croisette, whereas nine monumental painted bronze sculptures welcomed the visitors to the
garden of the Grand Hotel of Cannes. There were three more artworks exhibited in Saint Tropez:
the sculpture "Co-stell-azione" on the beach of Pampelonne near the 55 Club, "Im-plosione" in
Gassin and “Bozzolo” at the Rond Point at the entrance of Ramatuelle.
Over the same period, from April 24th to October 3rd, in occasion of the Ortissima Percorsidorta
2010, an event which had hosted in previous years Arnaldo Pomodoro and Mimmo Paladino, 23
sculptures were exhibited. Ten of them were shown outdoor, on the streets of the picturesque
medieval town of Orta San Giulio, and thirteen smaller ones inside Palazzo Penotti Ubertini. The
exhibition, curated by Luca Beatrice (who also had curated the Biennale of Venice in 2009), hosted
also 7 oil paintings and offered the chance to reflect on the infinite nuances of style in Rabarama’s
art.
Twenty works, of which two monumental ones, welcomed the visitors directly to the City, the
famous economics and finance district of London, at the Moor House from May 5th to June 5th, as a
further confirmation of the international value of this amazing artist.
From June to September 2011 Rabarama had a solo exhibition in Florence: “ANTICOnforme”. Her
fascinating sculptures met the audience in some of the most picturesque and ancient places of the
city. The exhibition is once again curated by the great critic Luca Beatrice.
Rabarama’s artistic value is confirmed by her extraordinary participation to the last Biennale of
Venice, the 54th International Art Exhibition, where she was chosen as artist for the Italian Pavilion,
directely inside the International Art Collector’s heart.
EXIBITIONS:
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2012
Rabarama, Van Loon & Simons Galery at the Mary Church, Vught – (The Netherlands)
Marble sculptures at the Sant’ Agostino cloister – Pietrasanta, Lucca – (Italy)
Rabarama on the landing stage – Comune di Pietrasanta, Marina di Pietrasanta, Lucca – (Italy)
UPCOMING:
Rabarama, Galerie BelAir, Genève – (Switzerland)
2011
54°Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte della Biennale di Venezia, Padiglione Italia, Arsenale, Venezia,
(Italy)
“ANTICOnforme”, Piazza Pitti- Giardino di Boboli-Giardino delle Scuderie Reali- Complesso Le
Pagliere – Firenze (Italy)
2010
Rabarama sur la croisette, installation of marble monumental sculptures along city streets and in
the Garden of the Grand Hotel, Cannes – (Francia)
Rabarama a Ortissima - Percorsidorta 2010, installation of monumental sculptures along city
streets and Palazzo Penotti Umbertini - Orta San Giulio, Novara - (Italy)
Rabarama at Moorhouse, London – (England)
Rabarama at the Italian Cultural Institute, London – (England)
2009
Rabarama dans la presqu’ile de Saint Tropez, installation of monumental sculptures along city
streets and public beaches, Saint Tropez – (France)
Rabarama – Vecchiato Art Galleries, Porto Cervo - (Italy)
Rabarama – comes to life, Etienne Gallery, Oisterwijk – (The Netherlands)
Rabarama – serata di presentazione del catalogo ragionato “Riflessioni” a Palazzo della Gran
Guardia, Padova - (Italy)
2008
Rabarama a Cortina, Galleria Corbelli & Arte, exibition of monumental sculptures along Corso
Italia, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Belluno - (Italy)
Rabarama. Peintures et Sculptures, La Galery Fine Arts, Saint Paul de Vence – (Francia)
Gli spazi dell’arte, installation of monumental sculptures along city streets - Catania Arte Fiera
2008, Catania - (Italy)
Presenze (curated by S. Arfelli), Galleria Comunale Ex Peschiera, Piazza del Popolo e Centro Storico,
Cesena, Galleria Comunale Leonardo da Vinci, Piazza Andrea Costa e percorso urbano, Cesenatico,
Forlì-Cesena - (Italy)
Rabarama à Paris (curated by V. Sanfo), installation of monumental sculptures: Place de la
Sorbonne, Rue Soufflot e Place du Pantheon, Parigi – (Francia)
Italian Shape, AnniArt Gallery 798, Bejing – (China)
Rabarama, Boca Raton Museum, Miami – (USA)
2007
Rabarama a Ginevra, maestoso connubio, Franck Muller Castle, Ginevra – (Svizzera).
Identità (curated by C. Alampi, D. Quattrone), Villa Genovese Zerbi, Reggio Calabria - (Italy)
Dreams of Transformation, Vecchiato New Art Galleries, Padova - (Italy)
2006
Rabarama, Etienne Gallery, Oisterwijk – (The Netherlans)
Art in the city, piazza Torino - Jesolo, Venezia - (Italy)
2005
Rabarama, Villa Remmert – Cirié, Torino- (ItalY)
Il Mistero dell’identità (curated by N. D. Angerame, L. Caprile), Ex Chiesa Anglicana – Alassio,
Savona - (Italy)
Rabarama, Fundaciòn Sebastian, Mexico City – (Mexico)
Trans-calare, Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City – (Mexico)
Sculture monumentali, installation of monumental sculptures along city streets - Mexico City –
(Mexico)
Rabarama Sculptures, Gardens of Cultural Center La Estancia, Caracas – (Venezuela)
Rabarama, Etienne Gallery, Oisterwijk – (The Netherlands)
Quando il gioiello diventa arte (with Leo Pizzo) - Palazzo Braga Valmarana, Vicenza – (Italy)
2004
Monumental Sculptures, installation of monumental sculptures along city streets - Brescia – (Italy)
Rabarama (curated by C. Zanetti), Galleria Marchina Arte Contemporanea, Brescia –(Italy)
Sculture Monumentali, Caselle Torinese – Torino – (Italy)
Ántropos (curated F. Di Leo), Casa del Cima - Conegliano - Treviso, – (Italy)
Sculpture Traveling Shows of Rabarama, Contemporary Art Museum Millennium Monument,
Bejing - He Xiangning city Art Museum - Shenzhen City, Sculpture Space – Shangai City, installation
of monumental sculptures along city streets – Jinan City, installation of monumental sculptures
along city streets – (China)
2003
Indecipherable trip, San Giovanni Evangelista, Badoer Space, Venezia – (Italy)
Rabarama: Corpi Mutanti, installation of monumental sculptures along city streets Padova – (Italy)
Sculture Monumentali, installation of monumental sculptures along city streets, Fiera d’Oltremare,
Napoli – (Italy)
Im-patto (curated by M. Calvesi, G. Granzotto), Musei di San Salvatore in Lauro, Roma – (Itay)
2002
Rabarama: Esculturas Monumentales, Fundaciòn Dolores Olmedo Patino, Messico City –(Mexico)
Monumental Sculptures, Musée Fleury – Lodéve, Montpellier – (Francia)
Rabarama, Alessandro S. Carone. Linee Riflesse (curated by A. S. Carone, G. Perez), Pinacoteca
Castello Svevo, Barletta - (Italy)
2001
Rabarama: Dimensione Bronzo, New Art Gallery, Galleria Dante Vecchiato – Padova - (Italy)
Rabarama. Monumental Sculptures, (curated by D. Magnetti), Fondazione Palazzo Bricherasio,
Torino - (Italy)
Rabarama, Palazzo del Senato, Milano - (Italy)
2000
Una scoperta, New Art Gallery, Galleria Dante Vecchiato, Padova - (Italy)
Rabarama, Fondazione Mudima, Milano - (Italy)
Trans-formation, Galerie Enrico Navarra, Paris – (Francia)
Rabarama, Galleria Dante Vecchiato - Forte dei Marmi, Lucca - (Italy)
Rabarama. Colori e Forme (curated by G. Granzotto) - Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza, Roma - (Italy)
1999
Rabarama, Salone delle Terme, Antwerpen – (Belgium)
1998
Rabarama, Galerj JFV, Roeselare – (Belgium)
1997
Rabarama, Galleria Dante Vecchiato, Vicenza - (Italy)
Rabarama, Palazzo Grasselli, Cremona - (Italy)
Rabarama, Busacca Gallery, Philadelphia – (USA)
1995
Rabarama, Galleria Dante Vecchiato, Padova - (Italy)
Rabarama, Palazzo Piazzoni Parravicini - Vittorio Veneto, Treviso - (Italy)
1992
Rabarama, Modern Art Museum, Toluca – (Messico)
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1997
Tentoonstelling Exposition, Gallery Artstudio, Knokke – (Belgium)
L’Anima e le forme, scultori in fonderia, Museo Civico Archeologico, Bologna - (Italy)
2000
Italian Bronze Masterpieces in Hong Kong, J. Gallery - Ritz Carlton, Hong Kong – (China)
2001
Exposition Itinerante: Mondial (curated by C. Schreyer), Forum Grimaldi - Monaco, Galerie Enrico
Navarra, Paris – (France)
En Voyage, Castello Svevo, Barletta - (Italy)
2002
Mondial, Cho Sun Ilbo Art Museum, Taiwan (China) - Gallery Hyundai, Seoul (Corea) – Yokohama
(Japan)
Open 2002 – “Imaginaire Féminin” - International Exhibition of Sculptures and Installations,
(Curated by P. De Grandis, P. Restany), various locations, Lido di Venezia – (Italy)
2003
Beijing International, National Art Museum of China, Bejing Biennale – (China)
24 artisti a confronto, Castel Brando - Cison di Valmarino, Treviso – (Italy)
2004
Oisterwijk Sculptuur 2004, Etienne Gallery, Oisterwijk – (The Netherlands)
2005
Open 2005. International Exhibition of Sculptures and Installations (curated by P. De Grandis, V.
Sanfo, C. Tsong-zung, M. Vescovo), various locations, Lido di Venezia, Venezia – (Italy)
Collettiva (a cura di L. Ramoino), Galleria Le Tele Tolte, Calcata (Viterbo), Italia.
Novecento. Pittura e scultura (curated by R. Bossaglia) - Galleria D’Arte Cinquantasei, Bologna –
(Italy)
2006
Rabarama Etienne Gallery, Oisterwijk – (The Netherlands)
Monumental Sculptures, installation of monumental sculptures along city streets – Rovereto,
Trento – (Italy)
2007
Surreal Metafisic’ Art, Galleria Profumo D’Arte, Roma – (Italy)
Biennale FreeArte 2007 (curated by L. Garbuglia) - Galleria Il Canovaccio – Studio Antonio Canova,
Roma – (Italy)
2008
Italian Shape, Anni Art, 798 Beijing – (China)
2009
Corpi Speciali, Vecchiato Art Galleries, Milano – (Italy)
2012
Gallery Collection, Galery Wild, Zurich – (Switzerland)
Homo faber,In-cinta, Piazza Duomo, Pietrasanta, Lucca – (Italy)
Gallery Collection, Galerie Bel-Air, Gèneve, Switzerland
ACQUISITIONS BY MUSEUMS AND INSTITUTIONS
2008
Trans-lettera, Copelouzos Family Art Museum, Athene – (Greece)
Trans-lettera, Lungomare Falcomatà, Reggio Calabria – (Italy)
Labirintite, Lungomare Falcomatà, Reggio Calabria – (Italy)
Co-stell-azione, Lungomare Falcomatà, Città di Reggio Calabria – (Italy)
2005
Bozzolo, National Association of Chinese Painters, Art Museum of Biennale, Beijing Trans-mutazione, Red Town Sculpture Space Art Museum, Shanghai – (China)
(China)
LOANS TO MUSEUM
2001
Labirintite, Contemporary Art Museum, Boca Raton, Florida – (USA)
BIBLIOGRAFY
MONOGRAPHIC TEXTS
1999
L. M. Barbero, G. Granzotto, Rabarama, Gallerie Dante Vecchiato, Padova – (Italy)
2000
V. Baradel, L. M. Barbero, G. Granzotto, L. Pagnucco Salvemini, Rabarama, Electa, Milano – (Italy)
2009
N. Galvan, A. Sandonà, Rabarama 1996 – 2009 “Riflessioni”, Vecchiato Art Galleries, Padova –
(Italy)
EXHIBITION’S CATALOGS
2000
G. Granzotto, L. M. Barbero, Rabarama. Colori e Forme, Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza, Roma.
2001
D. Magnetti, L. M. Barbero, Rabarama. Sculture Monumentali, Comune di Torino.
V. Baradel, L. M. Barbero, Trans–formation, Galerie Enrico Navarra
P. Restany, M. Nuridsany, N. Bourriand, P. Lombard, Mondial (catalogo a cura di C. Schreyer),
Forum Grimaldi, Monaco, Galerie Enrico Navarra, Parigi, Taiwan, Cho Sun Ilbo Art Museum,
Galleria Hyundai, Seoul, Yokohama.
P. De Grandis, P. Restany, Open 2002 - “Imaginaire Féminin” - V International Exhibition of
Sculptures and Installations Comune di Venezia.
2002
A. S. Carone, G. Perez, Rabarama, Alessandro S. Carone – Linee Riflesse, Mostra – Pinacoteca
Castello Svevo, Barletta.
2003
M. Calvesi, G. Granzotto, Im-patto, Musei di San Salvatore in Lauro, Roma
V. Sanfo (a cura di), Beijing International, National Art Museum of China, Bejing Biennale
2004
G. Mies, Ántrpohos, Casa del Cima, Fondazione G. B. Cima
F. Dian, X. Xiao Feng, Sculpture Exhibition of Rabarama, Bejing City
2005
N. D. Angerame, L. Caprile, Rabarama. Il mistero dell’identità, Comune di Alassio
P. De Grandis, V. Sanfo, C. Tsong-zung, M. Vescovo, Open 2005. VIII International Exhibition of
Sculptures and Installation, Comune di Venezia
R. Bossaglia, Novecento. Pittura e scultura, Galleria D’Arte Cinquantasei
2007
E. Gusella, Rabarama. Identità, Comune di Reggio Calabria.
2008
L. Caprile, Rabarama. Presenze, Comune di Cesenatico
2009
N. Galvan, Rabarama Dans La Presqu’ile De Saint-Tropez, Vecchiato Art Galleries
2010
L. Beatrice, Rabarama Ortissima Percorsidorta 2010 - Silvana editoriale
L. Beatrice, Rabarama sur la Croisette, Vecchiato Art Galleries
2011
L.Beatrice, George Bolge, Rabarama ANTICOnforme 2011 - Vecchiato Art Galleries