The galleristi / owners of Gold/Smith Gallery in Boothbay Harbor, Maine have been spending winter’s in the Tuscany Region of Italy for 31 years. In that very creative time John paints and Karen paints clothing with paints stolen from John’s studio. They have met and represented some truly incredible artists from Tuscany, Italy. They even have swapped their home near Lucca with Boothbay residents here so they’d have places here to use for visiting Italian artist that were exhibiting at their gallery during the summer season.

This autumn The Vanders have chosen five of their Italian artists to have a group show at Gold/Smith Gallery. Carlo Albucci had been represented by Gold/Smith Gallery since 2013. He was a Florentine painter who always showed the the brighter side of life. He passed away in February 2020 and sadly there was very little inventory that remained of his work.  There are less than a half dozen of his oil paintings that remain in the gallery’s collection and they’re all for sale in this exhibit.

Laura Bianchi and Lorella Ciampelli are both hyper-realists that have been best friends since they both attended the Academia d’Arte in Livorno. Laura invents people to be the protagonists in her oils and Lorella humanizes fruits and vegetables in her painting. Both are fantastically precise and both achieve a clarity in their paintings that goes miles beyond reality. The Vander’s have represented them both for over 30 years.

The last two artists in this collective are Claudio Stefanelli and Giuliano Berni. They are both pure romantics. Claudio lives in Pescia and paints magical Tuscany landscapes. His paintings make peoples want to go there for a visit they’re so lush and verdant. Giuliano is a miniaturist. The paints fantastic floral bouquets and lush landscapes of his home near Florence with tempera on Terracotta. His miniatures are all wearable art as pendants, rings and and earrings. 

Five Tuscan Artists will be featured at Gold/Smith Gallery now through Sept. 21. The Gallery is located at 8 McKown St., across from the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library. The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day and can be reached at 207-633-6252 for more information.