The Flowing Forms of Helaine Blumenfeld

Taking Risks

This is the latest exhibition in the Piazza at Pietrasanta and one of the nicest for a long while.  The work, in marble and bronze, is by a woman called Helaine Blumenfeld.  Do check out her site because her photos are much better than mine! Helaine is one of the older generation of sculptors working in Pietrasanta and very distinguished.  She originally studied in Paris under the Russian sculptor Zakhine and has built herself an international reputation. 

Helaine's personal studio

She’s based here, working in her own studio and in the marble studio SEM and specialises in exploring the territory between figurative and abstract forms.

These three bronzes I think of as three dancing women and I was amused to see some older Italian women out shopping and taking turns to pose for photographs beside them!

Pietrasanta is gradually getting back to its normal self after the tourist chaos of the summer.  One innovation is that the local police have adopted very strange two-wheeled vehicles to patrol on.  The Carabinieri of course, still dash around in cars!