He transformed his dream into metal, creating works which attract the eye and impress the soul.
Alberto Pasqual is a local sculptor. In his family workshop, he discovered the secrets of iron by himself and made them his own. From the very beginning, he started crafting with many materials including clay, gypsum, bronze and cement, with his favourite material being iron thanks to its strength and hardness. He is a master of the blowtorch, which makes the metal malleable and easy to turn into innovative shapes.
His recent works are inspired by a primordial energy, and are transformed into geometrical shapes which connect to earth, nature and life. The three-dimensional shapes that he analyses and studies call to mind the order and poise of geometry, and can be seen in his works “Guerra” (War) and “Verticale” (Vertical). “Guerra” is a thick iron disk with a hole, which looks as though it may have been created by a bullet, symbolizing both an open wound caused by an inhuman action and the sense of an absence of volume and substance which inevitably comes from death. “Verticale” is an iron wall resembling a majestic tree trunk. He also created a famous series of sculptures named “guerrieri” (Warriors). These mythical figures combine historical truth with the expressive power of metaphor: with their shields, they are the guardians of their own conscience, where individuals can achieve their self-fulfilment without being negatively influenced by the surrounding environment.
Alberto Pasqual has had the opportunity to showcase his works in many personal and collective exhibitions in Italy and abroad, namely in Perugia, Salzburg, Vienna, Rome, Padua, Venice and Pordenone. In 2006, with architects Michele Biz and Alessandro Broggio, he was awarded the prize for the national competition “Un monumento a Marco Pantani” (A Monument for Marco Pantani). The massive sculpture was created as a tribute to the unforgettable Italian cycling champion known as “The Pirate”. It is located near one of the most strenuous bends of the Mortirolo Pass, which made Pantani famous and oversaw many of his greatest endeavours. In the sculpture, the three-dimensional figure of Marco Pantani stands out in his most famous move: his feet spurring the pedals on, his hands below him, his gaze towards far-away rivals.
After twenty years as a sculptor, today Alberto Pasqual is also known for his completely new works on paper: while still being a sculptor, he found a new way to express his feelings through painting.
Walking through Sacile, some of his works can be admired: the bas-relief dedicated to Pier Paolo Pasolini, or “Mans Furlanis”, a streamlined bronze monument celebrating blood donation as a source of life and hope, placed in one of the main outdoor areas of the city: the apse of Duomo di San Nicolò.
“… I believe that my sculptures
express a jump upwards,
a sort of ascent,
from this world into another one,
from the physical dimension,
which is tangible and extremely heavy,
to a more impalpable
and lighter dimension,
maybe conceptual,
maybe spiritual,
maybe made of intuition,
I don’t know…”
Alberto Pasqual
