The elegance and softness of forms in Do’s work, which is endowed of emotions at the same time tender and strong, serve as a link between the formal richness of classical reference, “Greek” as Igor Mitoraj suggested, and the archaic and ritual elements and symbols: the Psiche mirror is an inner eye reminding us of the sun/moon double relationship, where the crystal face reflects the image while its back, covered with golden leaves, retains the image. The symbolism connected with “duplicity” can also be found in the suggestive series of bronze Candleholders, where the white candles are mirrored on a golden back shaped into various forms. Ancient pagan rites seem to be evoked, where the crucial combination of light and shade is exalted by spherical forms, as in the Folded Spheres series, made up of individual non-functional terracotta and bronze sculptures; or in her bronze Roses of all sizes; or the various Terracotta showing a lighted side and a dark one, making it necessary to walk around them in order to achieve a complete appreciation of the work, in a kind of circular magic dance.

Do teaches us to live surrounded by beautiful things, beautiful and good because of their positive aura: the Albero Melograna is a symbol of fertility, while the Pesci series brings light and the Birds are characterised by various attitudes, from curiosity to vanity etc., typical of both animals and men. Do always works on series and often on commission, her objects are sensual even when they are functional as in the Light Sculpture collection, in bronze and glass (which she particularly loves for its elegance and lightness), or in the Tables, the Consolles, the Toilettes, the Porta Pane collections, on whose surfaces dynamic drawings and serpentines are generated by the casting of liquid wax, a process which is never casual but always accurately planned; the shapes of these objects have been designed in advance, so a terracotta frame is used to contain the wax casting and outline the edges, the choice of forms reveals a gentle sensibility and always produces a striking final effect. Round forms and serpentines also characterize the Gioielli collection, objects of immense beauty whose simple lines make the unusual patters warmly familiar to us: brooches, necklaces, pendants, bracelets and rings in gold-plated silver, which far from being designed as expensive objects for rich buyers, are meant to be small and precious companions that rest on us and make us affectionately think of the person who made them.

Sculptures always celebrate the space surrounding them, the space willing to receive them, but Do’s forms come to life to live in the space of men, to make their dwellings more precious, joining the formal beauty pertaining to art with ritual symbolism and functionality.

The materials she uses, their rough and rich simplicity, remind of the ancient Etruscans, but also of Art Nouveau, for their elegant curves, thus linking old and modern times, classical culture and free spirit, the quotidian function of objects of daily use and cosmopolitan sensibility.

From a technical point of view the lost wax process is used: Do begins with a terracotta model (a material on other occasions used by the artist in itself) the mould is made of resin and it gets filled with wax, when the wax melts we obtain a unique piece. For this process Do draws on the great tradition of the foundries of Pietrasanta and Pistoia. Thanks to their craftsmen’s expertise the warm floral decorative art of this international artist finds its best expression. Do has chosen the space and the light of Tuscany to create oniric images which come to life as everyday objects, to make life more pleasant and cosy. It is like the welcoming of shadow at sunset, in the magic moment of dusk when the sun is lulled by the moon-beams.



From: R. Cresti, Do, Galleria Bacci di Capaci, Lucca 2000