A Foundation for Gianmaria Potenza... a Foundation for Venice

Gianmaria Potenza was born on December 9, 1936. While still a student at the Institute of Art in Venice, he opened a studio where he continued practising various art forms, from sculpture to engraving to mosaic. He first exhibited in 1952 in a group show at the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation in Venice, where he made his solo debut in 1958.

– Maestro Gianmaria Potenza –

Among his numerous participations in the Venice Art Biennale, the 1986 exhibition remains memorable. It enchantingly enticed Biennale visitors with the finely tuned floating sculpture “Harmonic Water Lily,” an enormous 7-meter-diameter flower. The quest for three-dimensionality and spatiality has been present since the beginning of his career.

In the 1980s, he began his first experiments with bronze, leading to the mature outcomes of his expressive and unmistakable paint sculptures. Additionally, he radically innovated the mosaic technique, conceiving a tesserae arrangement not on a flat surface but through cutting. Potenza’s art is spiritual, garnering strong appreciation even from religious institutions. In 1967, Pope Paul VI commissioned him to create a series of sacred vestments, and to this day, he continues to receive commissions for the realization of sacred furnishings for numerous churches.

His works are recognized worldwide, and he has travelled to Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Lithuania, and Russia. He is courted by major clients such as Holland America Line, Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises, and P&O. In Istanbul, defying the constraints of time, he becomes a cultural bridge between the sacred Empires of East and West, between Rome and Constantinople, Byzantium and Venice.

And it is precisely in Venice that the POTENZA TAMINI FOUNDATION is born, a new reality dedicated to the art of master Gianmaria Potenza and his legacy of knowledge and techniques, a testament deeply rooted in Venetian history. Created thanks to the support and will of collector Josie Mackwitz Tamini, the Foundation finds its home in the spaces of Gianmaria Potenza’s historic studio at 1450 Dorsoduro, in Venice’s pulsating heart of creativity, sensitivity, and culture. Here, even today, Potenza creates astonishing works, skillfully reinterpreting a profoundly Venetian artistic narrative in an unexpected dialogue between past and present. In this context, the Potenza Tamini Foundation positions itself as the guardian of the Master’s important artistic legacy. It also explores contemporary cultural vitality by supporting young creative talents investigating themes akin to those he tackled.

Artistic Direction has been entrusted to Valeria Loddo, formerly the artistic director of Studio Potenza, who declares the Foundation’s ambitious program to become a new focal point for the city’s cultural life, with particular attention to young artists. The first project dedicated to an emerging talent will open on June 6 at the Diocesan Museum of Cremona with the exhibition “Tratti” by photographer Paolo Mazzini.

The Foundation will ensure continuity and a future for Gianmaria Potenza’s work: “It is important for me to see a reality emerge that will carry on my work, and that my art does not end with me, but continues to live and be experienced. I am happy that this is happening in Venice, the place where I was born and have always worked, a place I could never give up, capable of enveloping and surprising me every day.” Gianmaria Potenza.

The Potenza Tamini Foundation inaugurates its birth with a rich program of events and activities. Among the many events still in the pipeline, there is great anticipation for a solo exhibition by the Master at the Palazzo Ferro Fini in Venice, headquarters of the Veneto Region, scheduled from May to October 2025. This exhibition will mark the return of Gianmaria Potenza’s art to his city.

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