The interview with Mario Lepri in Reality
"Sculptor, or moulder of exceptional original masks in leather, often taking the form of leaves of the birch or plane tree? To be honest, we do not know. The surprise on entering the studio of Carlo Remi, a fifty-four-year-old craftsman-tanner from Ponte a Egola, is considerable: it is like an art gallery in Paris or New York, where current works are presented for evaluation, first by critics, then by those enthusiasts who so often determine an artist's success.Remi is surprising, and we really do not know why up to now he has resisted the idea of presenting his work in a personal exhibition in Florence, which would establish his artistic value and favour this new activity to the traditional which, however, he has no wish to give up. "It is fair to say," he says, "That I was born in the tannery. Even as a small child I used to go looking for my father. Then, when I was a little older I used to go and help not only my father but my older brother, Francesco. Three years ago, I don't know why, I had the idea of creating sculptures in leather and, confident in my own ability, I began to do so. Initially, I wanted to model a face of Christ as an image of human suffering. I have never used, and will never resort to, presses or other similar ways of working. Every face, every leaf, every flower is the product of my hands, which respond to the stimulus of imagination and inspiration".
In the "studio" in the Remi house, Carlo soaks the leather and shapes the object he is working on. The tips of his thumbs become the tools which coax the tough, resistant material to the will of the artist until the desired form is arrived at. Each work is unique and intensely personal.
Mario Lepri
