I am an Italian-born, New York–raised, San Francisco–based artist whose work bridges centuries of tradition with the urgency of the present. My practice is rooted in the ancient craft of gilding — layering aluminum, silver, and multiple karats of gold leaf with handmade glazes — yet my vision is contemporary, responding to silence, balance, and the natural forces shaping our world.
My first studio was my father’s jewelry bench. Surrounded by gold dust and silver filings, I learned early that metal holds memory — it reflects light, endures time, and carries meaning across generations. That quiet apprenticeship instilled in me a respect for craftsmanship and permanence that continues to shape my work today
When my family moved to New York, I carried that foundation into my studies at Pratt Institute. Later, I followed my roots back to Italy and trained at the Florence Academy of Art, where I immersed myself in sight-size drawing, sculpture, and classical paint mixing. Florence was a turning point: I realized my path was not only to preserve tradition, but to transform it.
Back in San Francisco, I began to fuse this old-world training with modern abstraction. Early commissions, such as a series for the historic Presidio Foundation, affirmed my ability to bridge the classical and the contemporary. A later sabbatical in Italy deepened my range through decorative painting, trompe-l’œil, and private commissions, sharpening my command of metal leaf as a medium. Each chapter layered another dimension onto my practice, much like the glazes and leaf that build depth into my panels.
As a deaf artist, silence has been both my challenge and my teacher. Visual language became my native form of communication, and I approach painting as a translation of perception — rhythm without sound, balance without words. My works emerge instinctively, through layering and experimentation, their fractured surfaces and radiant patterns forming a vocabulary of their own.
Over time, my art began to echo the forces of nature themselves. Fires, heatwaves, tsunamis, glacial cracks — not depicted literally, but abstracted through geometry, pattern, and metal. This exploration led to the Global Warming Awareness Poster Series, a manifesto-inspired project that memorializes real climate disasters while educating future generations. My gilded panels and my posters are two voices in the same conversation: that art can preserve memory, provoke reflection, and remind us of our shared responsibility.
My work has been exhibited at the de Young Museum (San Francisco), the Museo Italo Americano, and is held in private and corporate collections including Tiffany & Co. (Milan) and Facebook HQ (Menlo Park). It has been featured in publications such as Architectural Digest (April 2024).
Today, I continue to create from my San Francisco studio, treating it as a laboratory of light, silence, and resilience. Each painting is a singular creation — hand-layered, evolving, and alive. My purpose is simple: to transform precious metals into living surfaces that speak across time, carrying forward the voices of silence, memory, and nature.
Contact the artist to learn more.
Contact the artist to learn more.
Curriculum Vitae
Private Collections
- Tiffany & Co., Milan, Italy
- Museo Italo Americano, San Francisco, CA
- Facebook HQ, Menlo Park, CA
Museum Exhibitions
September 30, 2023-January 7, 2024
The de Young Open 2023
de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA
January 18–April 29, 2018
PERSPECTIVES Works by Gianluca Franzese, Marietta Patricia Leis and Giuseppe Palumbo
Museo Italo Americano, San Francisco, CA
Publications
- ” Happy Place” Architectural Digest, April 2024 issue, p118
- Cover Magazine, issue 62/spring 2021 Matrix Collaboration with Topfloor by Esti Barnes
- Country & Townhouse, p. 55 march/April 2021, Matrix collaboration with Topfloor by Esti Barnes
- The World of Interior, p. 33 March 2021, Matrix collaboration with Topfloor by Esti Barnes
- Sleeper, 2012, Matrix collaboration with Topfloor by Esti Barnes
- Interior Design, Spring Market Tabloid, Matrix collaboration with Topfloor by Esti Barnes
- Interdisciplinary Thinking for Schools: Ethical Dilemmas, Dr. Meredith Harbord & Sara Riaz Khan
- “Una Galleria Vista Duomo,” Architectural Digest (Italy), September 2017 issue, p. 64
- “Cresciuto Tra La Gemme,” La Repubblica Della Donna, July 2017 issue. p. 80
- “Cacciatori del bello.” Vanity Fair (Italy), Christina Manfredi, July 2017 issue
- “Gianluca Franzese: Graphite and Gold,” Juxtapoz, Matt Gonzalez, October 2013 issue, pp. 32-33
- “Weinstein Gallery to Present Three New Artists in Their San Francisco Debut,” PRNewswire, 2003
Artist Residence
- Space Program 2024. San Francisco, CA
- Facebook HQ, Menlo Park, CA
- Art Ventures, Summer 2022, Half Moon Bay, CA
Collaboration
- Matrix, Topfloor by Esti
- The Art Series Scarves with Amelia Graham
Contest
The De Young Open 2023
Charles Schwab print program