Franca Marini

She carried out her academic art studies in Italy where she attended the Siena State Art Institute and the Florence Academy of Fine Arts.

It followed her departure for the United States, determined to deepen her art studies and to commence a career as a professional artist. In San Francisco she attended the San Francisco Art Institute, one of the most important American vanguard art schools, where she confronted with the innovative and radical trends of American culture. She later moved to New York City where she lived and worked for about 10 years.

During the last recent years, after about 30 years of training in painting, she has explored different media such as sculpture and video and has realized several site-specific installations.

From 1984 until today she has shown in many personal and collective exhibitions. Her work is part of public and private collections in Italy, Costa Rica and United States. She believes that teaching, especially the teaching of art, is a very subtle and complex task which cannot be considered simply the transmission of knowledge and notions.

Although creativity cannot be taught, it can be stimulated and nurtured. The instructor has to respect each student's creative potential and attempt to help students learn how to bring ideas to full fruition, to move from inchoate images to realized forms. Her goal is to provide sound training - as well as inspiration - so that students will achieve the artistic means by which to express, in original and unique ways, their innermost fantasies and personal visions.

For more information on Franca's work, visit her official website.