Arthur Luis Piza

Lichens

1983

Arthur Luiz Piza was born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1928. He moved to Paris in 1951 and worked in the studio of a master color etcher, Johnny Friedlaender. Piza quickly became an expert in all the techniques of etching and aquatint using sugar-lift extensively. He experimented in various ways to make his work more sculptural and three dimensional. He abandoned traditional etching techniques and by using very thick copper plates, he devised his unique gouge technique. This technique was devised by incising his designs into his plates with hammers and various shaped chisels. The precision required is exact as his grooves need to be precisely deep and wide enough to hold his handmade special inks. Because of the depth of the grooves, the direction of the wiping directly affected the final impression. From 1958, Piza devoted himself primarily to burin engraving. Starting from this period, the artist created reliefs and collages, as well as sculpted objects, porcelain, and jewelry. During the 1960s, Piza became known as one of the most compelling representatives of the art of engraving. The artist works with the perception of matter, matter that is imaginary and poeticized. Piza lived and worked in Paris for most of his life.