Chiara Corbelletto (born 1956 in

Biella Biella (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the northern Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the Province of Biella, province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of ...

, Italy) is an Italian-born New Zealand artist. Corbelletto's public sculptures in Auckland include ''Twins'' (2003) at the Grafton Campus of the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

, ''Numbers Are the Language of Nature'' (2005) at the

Auckland Domain The Auckland Domain, also known as Pukekawa / Auckland Domain, is a large park in Auckland, New Zealand. Consisting of of land, Auckland Domain is the oldest park in the city. Located in the central suburb of Grafton, New Zealand, Grafton, the ...

, and ''1001 Spheres'' (2023) at Monte Cecilia Park. Corbelletto has artworks in the collections of

Te Tuhi Te Tuhi, formerly known as Te Tuhi Centre for the Arts, Te Tuhi - The Mark, Te Tuhi Gallery and Pakuranga Arts Society is a public contemporary art gallery situated in Pakuranga, Auckland, New Zealand. Managed by Te Tuhi Contemporary Art Trust a ...

and

Te Papa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa (Māori language, Māori for 'Waka huia, the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the Nation ...

Biography

Corbelletto was born in 1956 in

, Italy. She trained as an artist in Italy, studying at the

University of Milan The University of Milan (; ), officially abbreviated as UNIMI, or colloquially referred to as La Statale ("the State niversity), is a public university, public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Eu ...

. She arrived in New Zealand in 1981, after which she spent the next six years working as an art restorer. Corbeletto moved her studio to the

Corban Estate Arts Centre Corban Estate Arts Centre is an arts precinct in West Auckland, New Zealand. Established in 2002 at the site of the Mt Lebanon Vineyard and Winery, the arts centre provides creative production, theatre and gallery space to New Zealand artists. ...

around the year 2004. In 2005, Corbelletto unveiled ''Numbers Are the Language of Nature'', a sculpture in the

commissioned as a part of Outdoor Sculpture 2001, to create a sculpture walk within the Domain. The

maquette A ''maquette'' is a scale model or rough draft of an unfinished sculpture or work of architecture. The term is a loanword from French. An equivalent term is ''bozzetto'', a diminutive of the Italian word for a sketch. Sculpture A maquette ...

of the sculpture is held at

Auckland War Memorial Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum (), also known as Auckland Museum, is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s, stands on Observatory ...

. Corbeletto's ''1001 Spheres'' was unveiled in 2023 in Monte Cecilia Park, Auckland, to mark 125 years of

women's suffrage in New Zealand Women's suffrage was an important political issue in the late-nineteenth-century New Zealand. In early colonial New Zealand, as in European societies, women were excluded from any involvement in politics. Public opinion began to change in the ...

Artistry

Art historian Michael Dunn feels that Corbelletto's works occupy "a position somewhere between abstraction and figuration".

Sculptures

*''Twins'' (2003), located at the Grafton Campus of the

. *''Numbers Are the Language of Nature'' (2005), located in the

. *''Paremuka Bridge'' (2005) woven designs,

Rānui Rānui is a suburb of West Auckland, New Zealand, which is under the local governance of Auckland Council. The area is densely populated but close to the western fringe of the Auckland urban area. The word 'rānui' in Māori means 'midday'. ...

/ Western Heights, Auckland. *''White Delta'' and ''Archimede'' (2008), two polypropylene sculptured purchased by

in 2008. *''Binary'' (2014), at Massey University, Palmerston North. *The façade of the Te Atatū Peninsula Library (2014),

Te Atatū Peninsula Te Atatū Peninsula (formerly Te Atatu North, also known in Māori language, Māori as Ōrukuwai) is a waterfront suburb of West Auckland, New Zealand, West Auckland surrounded by the Waitematā Harbour. The area was home to brickworks and far ...

, Auckland *''1001 Spheres'' (2023), located in Monte Cecilia Park, Auckland

Exhibitions

*''Arche the Beginning'' (1988),

Gow Langsford Gallery Gow Langsford Gallery is a commercial art gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. The gallery was established in 1987 by John Gow and Gary Langsford. Gow Langsford represents many significant New Zealand and international artists, including Max Gim ...

, Grey Lynn, Auckland *''Scultura'' (1990), Gow Langsford Gallery, Parnell, Auckland *''Essenza and Affinita'' (1997), Fisher Gallery, Pakuranga

Gallery

Twins (sculpture) 20230812 123805 02.jpg, ''Twins'' (2003), sculpture at the Grafton Campus of the

Numbers are the language of nature.JPG, ''Numbers Are the Language of Nature'' (2005) in the

Paremuka Bridge 20240901 144113.jpg, Woven designs on Paremuka Bridge (2005), between

and Western Heights in West Auckland Te Atatū Peninsula Library façade 20240830 131949.jpg, The façade of the

Library, constructed in 2014 1001 Spheres 20231210 153539 02.jpg, ''1001 Spheres'' (2023), located in Monte Cecilia Park, Auckland

Biography

Artistry

Sculptures

Exhibitions

Gallery

References

Further reading