Exhibition, Book launch for Italian Painter Kicks off SC Humanities Festival at USC Aiken

Story Courtesy of Aiken Standard

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AIKEN, SC (03/09/2018) Orvieto, Italy painter Livio Valentini made work in Aiken that was "transformative and unique," said Dr. Jeremy Culler, assistant professor of art history at USC Aiken.

Culler is among many in the university and local community anticipating celebrating Valentini's work and relationship with Aiken, when the South Carolina Humanities Festival kicks off next month.

"We want to show people the real value of humanities and human expression and human experiences," Culler said, "and we want to celebrate those traditions that are unique to Aiken and we also want to give back to an individual that meant so much to so many people that is no longer with us."

The SC Humanities Festival - which will be held on the university's campus and locations throughout Aiken County from April 12-14 - will include a "host of activities," including "lectures on local history, readings by poets and fiction writers, walking and trolley tours, film screenings, art exhibitions, and special open house events at key sites around town," according to SC Humanities' website.

The work of Valentini, once an artist-in-residence in Aiken, will be be celebrated in a month-long exhibit from March 26 to April 20, which will coincide with the festival.

"... The life legacy and, really, the heritage of Valentini will celebrate the Aiken legacy," Culler said. "He (Valentini) made work in Aiken that is transformative and unique and really is a part of his lifelong work ...

"The work itself and all of the work that we will be able to see on view is also very much a part of a launching of a book launch or book release of Valentini's life and legacy by colleagues of mine - (Chancellor Emeritus) Dr. (Robert) Alexander and (Professor Emeritus) Dr. (John) Elliot, and they will be basically be presenting their work onstage at the Etherredge Center."

The book is a biography entitled "Livio Orazio Valentini: An Artist's Spiritual Odyssey."

Valentini, who was born to a poor family in 1920, lived most of his life in Orvieto, according to the book summary, and "with no money for a formal education, he became a self-taught artist."

Valentini was conscripted into the Italian Army during World War II at age 20. He was captured by the Germans during the war and sent to a concentration camp.

The book summary details that there, Valentini "experienced a spiritual awakening that became a lifelong odyssey reflected in his art and teaching."

"Valentini's art and even his existence centered on his efforts to find freedom. His paintings, charcoal sketches and sculptures formed from terra cotta, forged iron, tile or stone are often a statement on the human condition, germination and rebirth, and the negativity and violence of humanity," the summary states.

Valentini's connection to Aiken and USC Aiken goes back to the 1990s. The university has previously detailed Elliot's visit to Valentini's gallery on behalf of nonprofit organization Partners in Friendship in the 1990s; afterward, the school and nonprofit co-sponsored Valentini's first U.S. exhibition.

Valentini then gifted his painting "Odissea" to the university.

According to the university, in 1999, Alexander initiated a three-year artist-in-residence program. Valentini was commissioned to create "La Principessa," which means "the princess," to honor an aged live oak tree in Hopelands Gardens.

"I mean, he does this in Aiken. … Aiken's a gem," Culler said. "We have all of these traditions, and while this is happening at the university, we believe that we not only have a responsibility to continue the legacy, but to continue the work because so many people were transformed and touched by this person."

A year after the aforementioned artwork, the artist was commissioned to create a piece to explore "the Universe of the University," USC Aiken said in a news release. From that, the piece "Galassia" was created, which is now displayed on the wall above the downstairs gallery in the Etherredge Center.

Culler said he has been drawn to Valentini's work like so many others.

"We talk about the humanities being very important," he said. "He spent a very considerable part of his life work on concepts and wanting to express that. We also see an artist (whose) life experiences ... were enriching and were devastating.

"What really makes this so important to show and have a context for … is to show a work of an artist who came to art and who celebrated the spirit of the humanities out of, I think, necessity."

Aiken last played host to the Humanities Festival in 1999, according to its website.

Most events during the festival are open and free to the public with the exception of some tours, the website says. (Trolley tour is $15 per person, and the Redcliffe tour is $7.50 per person.)

This story first appeared in the Aiken Standard March 5.