Among top Italian artists who have reached important international goals with their monumental art works there is of course Maria Cristina Carlini, rare feminine presence in a masculine world: she brings out the soul from iron, soil, logs, shaping with her hands majestic ancestral sculptures that dialogue by contrast with contemporaneity. Her artistic presence starts in the 70’s, from California, leaving a mark in America, Asia, Europe, in squares and museums, until “the new city that grows”, which becomes a symbol of the Expo in Milan. At Superstudio, in 2013 she experimented the interaction between art and design. Her last exhibition “Geologie, memorie della terra” is set up in the former Church of San Sisto in Milan until 8th September side by side with the art work by Francesco Messina. The “strength” of a dedicated woman talks more than a thousand words.

What “strength” made a woman artist establish herself in a field so controlled by men such as monumental sculpture?
The “strength” lies in the need to express myself, in the desire to create an art work, an impulse that I can ignore and that most of the times drives me to create monumental sculptures...

Among top Italian artists who have reached important international goals with their monumental art works there is of course Maria Cristina Carlini, rare feminine presence in a masculine world: she brings out the soul from iron, soil, logs, shaping with her hands majestic ancestral sculptures that dialogue by contrast with contemporaneity. Her artistic presence starts in the 70’s, from California, leaving a mark in America, Asia, Europe, in squares and museums, until “the new city that grows”, which becomes a symbol of the Expo in Milan. At Superstudio, in 2013 she experimented the interaction between art and design. Her last exhibition “Geologie, memorie della terra” is set up in the former Church of San Sisto in Milan until 8th September side by side with the art work by Francesco Messina. The “strength” of a dedicated woman talks more than a thousand words.

What “strength” made a woman artist establish herself in a field so controlled by men such as monumental sculpture?
The “strength” lies in the need to express myself, in the desire to create an art work, an impulse that I can ignore and that most of the times drives me to create monumental sculptures. Large size fulfils my expressivity and in some cases I cannot conceive a work in small-scale, I like the magnificence and the strength that monumental art work can transmit.

How did your itinerary begin? What was the goal?
My itinerary began with experimentation curiosity, especially working with soil. I was fascinated by it right from the start, and it is still today a material which I love to mould, which I constantly engage with and that continues to give me new research starting points, new results, new emotions.
It is not easy to define an aim, during my art itinerary I strongly felt the need to express myself and to do it through the earth. I had this need and I still have it today: to communicate it through art works, describe and give voice to inner reality that emerges only though my work.

“Pure and hard” materials, such as steel, iron, old wood, raw ceramics are your style. What describes this decision?
This narration describes how I prefer materials with an archaic, antique, lived taste. An example among all is the earth, a primitive and ancestral element, connected to our origins; I feel a lot also for recovered wood, that keeps its story and has always a memory inside it; on the other hand I’m attracted to iron and corten steel for their chromatic value that ideally brings me back to earth. I respect them like their distinctive features, which I try not to distort, but to enhance their qualities. Besides I prefer unfinished works, to give way to free interpretations.

How do you remember your experience at Superstudio in 2013, a mix with a design exhibiting event?
An experience that electrified me. An opportunity of interacting and exchanging with a world that I feel close to, impregnated with art. I interpret a form of art in design, a dialogue with sculpture, painting and various expressions.

Are art and design in opposition? How much can art give to design, and vice versa? Have you ever dealt with the reaction of an object or furniture?
Art and design are complementary and influence one another and communicate. One can give the other, as they often have the same starting point. 
I dealt with the creation of objects and furniture various times, some of which are present in my home. I focused particularly on the creation of various tables of different shapes and sizes in iron with mixed technical work with geometrical motives. It is a different experience but definitely fascinating and captivating.

Your atelier and your house are in Via Savona, in a laboratory inside the first reconverted production building in the post-industrial Tortona/Savona area of Milan that became the district of creativity. How is your habitat?
The lab and my house reflect a lot my personality. I have been among the first to live in in these place, a neglected factory, and I was therefore able to adapt it to my needs, to “customize” it. I find it the ideal habitat to work and live in harmony with myself and my work. In time, the district has changed from a more familiar to a more lively, dynamic and super creative dimension.

In Milan you can “breath” a lot of interior design. Can we also say the same for art in squares?
In the city, magnificent buildings have multiplied, travelling in parallel with the growth of design but Milan hasn’t got many sculptures in squares, there could be many more.

From your international experience, exhibitions, awards, installations... what it your most cherished memory?
The exhibition in the Forbidden City in 2010.  I had the pleasure to be invited to exhibit as first contemporary sculptor in this place full of splendours. The solo exhibition named “Colloquio tra giganti” (dialogue among giants) included many monumental art works that were well-set in the architectural context and instituted an in-depth dialogue with surrounding structures. An experience that gave me a great satisfaction and I remember it with pleasure.