An alchemist of color and a master of form and techniques, Leandro Lega began his artistic studies with painters and sculptors such as Francesco Nonni, Giovanni Romangnoli, Ercole Drei and Virgilio Guidi at the tender age of 10 but only started experimenting with clay after the Second World War when he prepared models and stamps for the renowned sculptor and ceramist Angelo Biancini.

 

Subsequently he built his own wood-fired kiln and began intense ex periments with clays and glazes that he rigorously prepared. His love for experimenting with firing techniques and inventing new colors has marked his work throughout his entire career. His early majolica works were made with the coiling technique. They testify to his creative and exploratory mind towards a synergy between the pictorial languages of contemporary abstract art and new forms, as well as small and large sized sculptural works for architectu ral purposes, private and public.

 

Lega was a highly multifaceted artist who never stopped searching for new aesthetic and expressive material in matter and in abstract and figurative languages. Much inspiration in his later work he drew from oriental ceramics, particularly Korean and Japanese, and his interest shifted from majolica to grès to porcelain.

 

Lega’s work has received many awards in numerous national and international exhibitions and events, including the Faenza exhibitions/competitions (1961-1981), the Gubbio Ceramic Art Biennale (1962-1974) and the Biennale Internationale de la céramique d’art (Vallauris 1968, 1972, 1974, 1980), Terra Incognita: Italy’s Ceramic Revival, Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art (London 2009), to name just a few.