Nicola Zamboni (10 May 1943 – 17 January 2023) was an Italian sculptor.
Life
Zamboni was born in
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
and he was student and assistant of
Quinto Ghermandi.
After retiring from the
Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna in his third year, he went to England in 1968 as a guest of
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi- abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced ...
. In 1975 he began teaching at the Academy in Bologna, and from 1997 to 2004 he taught sculpture at the
Brera Academy of Arts in Milan,
where he met Sara Bolzani who became his student and partner.
Zamboni lived in
Sala Bolognese
Sala Bolognese ( Bolognese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Bologna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna.
The municipality of Sala Bolognese is composed by the ''frazioni'' Padulle ...
in a big farmhouse converted into a studio residence, under the banks of the
Samoggia
The Samoggia is a river in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The source of the river is in the province of Modena near Zocca. The river flows northeast into the Metropolitan City of Bologna and flows near Bazzano, Crespellano, Piumazzo, Anzola ...
river.
The sculptor portrayed the human figure with realistic forms, with a careful search for detail and life-size,
in large choral works that require the use of various modelling techniques; these sculptures are made of various materials including
ceramics
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
,
cement
A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...
, stone,
wood, copper.
He created the large monument in
Marzabotto
Marzabotto ( Medial Mountain Bolognese: ) is a small town and ''comune'' in Italian region Emilia-Romagna, part of the Metropolitan City of Bologna. It is located south-southwest of Bologna by rail, and lies in the valley of the Reno. The area inc ...
in 1975 in front of the town hall,
as well as several monuments commemorating the
Bologna massacre
The Bologna massacre ( it, strage di Bologna) was a terrorist bombing of the Bologna Centrale railway station in Bologna, Italy, on the morning of 2 August 1980, which killed 85 people and wounded over 200. Several members of the neo-fascist t ...
in various Italian cities.
He also created a small garden of medieval inspiration with allegorical statues in one of the courts of the Cavedone PEEP.
Paolo Monti
Paolo Monti (11 August 1908 – 29 November 1982) was an Italian photographer, known for his architectural photography.
In his early period, Monti experimented with abstractionism as well as with effects such as blurring and diffraction. In 1 ...
, 1971">
Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico (1971) - BEIC 6332650.jpg, Experiments with cement
Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico (San Lazzaro di Savena, 1971) - BEIC 6346808.jpg, Sculpture theatre
Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico (Bologna, 1971) - BEIC 6357676.jpg, Sculpture, Villa Pepoli Baciocchi, Bologna
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*Graziano Campanini, Pietro Di Natale (ed.), ''Nicola Zamboni. Le materie dei sogni'', Genus Bononiae, Bologna, 2017