Exhibitions 2025

For the Summer Season, Accesso Galleria presents “The Sculpture Show 2025”. The exhibition brings together four international contemporary sculptors working in diverse materials. The sculptures presented are united in both the figurative subject as well as their contemporary nature. The exhibition includes works in several materials: marble, wood, bronze, terracotta and glass. By exhibiting a range of materials, the concept is to highlight the breadth of possibilities of contemporary figurative sculpture.
Too often figurative sculpture is perceived skeptically in the world of contemporary art; it can be considered almost an antiquated art form. With references from ancient Greek and Roman works to Renaissance masterpieces, contemporary figurative sculpture is sometimes viewed as something not so relevant. However, the artists in this exhibition test this notion with their sculptures. Their art may reference past works but their approach, execution and, at times, materials challenge this mistaken
perception. The artists in “The Sculpture Show 2025” bring to Pietrasanta a contemporary take on figurative sculpture. Pierre-Alix Nicolet photographs his sculptures in several exposures and then prints the images on multiple layers of glass. The final effect is that the sculpture seem to be recreated in the assembled plates of glass. Kelly Robert, working in bronze and terracotta, presents anatomically
exaggerated, even slightly abstracted figures. At times referencing classical works in their display of physical strength, Robert’s interpretation is firmly contemporary.
Returning to his initial artistic training, Peter Simon Mühlhäußer is exhibiting sculptures in marble. While all the sculptures have figurative references, some have a more classical approach yet with a contemporary aesthetic or presentation. Other works however lean towards figurative abstraction. Bruno Walpoth is exhibiting unique, life-size busts in wood. Walpoth’s sculptures are highly influenced by the centuries-long tradition of woodcarving in his native Val Gardena yet Walpoth moves beyond this into the contemporary with his realistic sculptures.
The desire is that the show exemplifies the broad possibilities of figurative sculpture. Each of these artists is using inspirations from the past. Nicolet, Robert, Mühlhäußer and Walpoth however do not intend to imitate these earlier creations but take from these works and make their own contemporary art. Expressing themselves in various materials and diverse styles, one can see the vast possibilities of contemporary figurative sculpture.
The participating artists are the following: Peter Simon Mühlhäußer is exhibiting five medium-scale sculptures in marble.Pierre-Alix Nicolet is exhibiting four sculptures: three in glass and one in
bronze; all are 80 cm in height.
Kelly Robert is exhibiting four sculptures, two in bronze and two in terracotta, with dimensions ranging from 50 to 80 cm in height.
Bruno Walpoth is exhibiting two sculptures in wood; one is 45 cm and the other is 90 cm in height.
Peter Simon Mühlhäußer was born in Göppingen Germany in 1982. He lives and works in southern Germany.

Mühlhäußer’s formal art training began in 2004 when he studied as a stonemason at the Johannes Steinhäuser School in Lasa Italy until 2007. In 2009 he earned his Master of Fine Arts from the New York Academy of Art graduating cum laude. While at the Academy he received an honorary fellowship for one year of continuing education. Working with various materials has been a consistent element throughout
Mühlhäußer’s artistic career. He has sculpted in numerous materials including marble, aluminum, bronze, resin, synthetic foam and quartzite crystal sand. Frequently working in a series of sculptures, he typically chooses a material to complement the theme or concept behind the series.
Often a series of Mühlhäußer’s sculptures tells stories. An early series, for example, looked at the pressures on young people and the difficulties they encounter in contemporary society. Another series took a more light-hearted look at human figures in poses inspired by animals. However in other series the art was less about the story and more about artistic possibilities. In order to explore this, he utilized technology to push the limits on what could be created in figurative sculpture.
Most recently Mühlhäußer has returned to his initial artistic medium, marble. In his marble sculptures, his art highlights the broad array of artistic possibilities of the material. These works include a classically sculpted nude embedded with contemporary elements. Another sculpture, still with figurative
elements, is highly abstracted of its physical forms and becomes nearly geometric. Mühlhäußer’s works are held in numerous significant collections. He has exhibited internationally including participating in the 55th Venice Biennale.

Pierre-Alix Nicolet was born in Vesoul France in 1991. He lives and works in Carrara Italy. Nicolet started studying stone carving in Burgundy in 2009. The experience working with the material and, in particular, his work with architectural elements awakened his interest in art. He then took a two-year journey in
South America living for several months in contact with an indigenous tribe in the Amazon. Upon returning to Europe, he studied at the Carrara Academy of Fine Arts. His time with the indigenous tribe changed many of Nicolet’s perceptions. He discovered a relationship with the natural world based on the idea that every earthly element participates in a shared network of intelligences. He sees decay not as loss or erasure but a place of reorganization and regeneration. In his art, Nicolet explores how even fragmented or evolving forms may assume new meaning according to their surroundings.
For his sculptural works in glass, he first creates the sculpture in gesso. He then photographs the sculpture in varied exposures so they seem fragmented; this allows him to create multiple layers of depth in the photos. The photographs are then printed on several sheets of glass. The sheets of glass are assembled one in front of the other; the resulting effect is the three-dimensionality of the sculpture within the layers of glass. In his charcoal drawings, Nicolet often draws an image on top of another while still allowing the earlier drawing to emerge. Sometimes the drawings are fragmented and reassembled, reanimating the image. In others, the image seems to have faded way with only slight traces of what was. For all the drawings however, although two-dimensional, there is a very sculptural sensation.

Kelly Robert was born in Newport Beach, California in 1976. She lives and works in Massa Italy.
Robert studied sculpture at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2001. Following a period of teaching art and creating her own line of jewelry, she completed her Master of Fine Arts at the New York Academy of Art (NYAA) in 2020. During her time at NYAA, Robert received several merit-based scholarships as well as two sculpture residencies in Carrara Italy.
Robert’s sculptures are expressions of strength. Her inspiration is people who, after facing intense personal adversity and struggles, pull through the difficulty of the moment and arise with confidence and strength. She purposefully exaggerates the twisting poses beyond the natural form to emphasize the energy and the power that are released in this moment of hope. Her sculptures are angular yet curvaceous. These undulating surfaces and gently pointed edges are reminiscent of nature itself. Robert feels these
elements and the shadows they create allow the viewer to visually travel the piece similarly to how one observes a rolling sand dune or a mountain range. Robert creates sculptures in terracotta, bronze and marble. The terracotta sculptures are created in a coil method and have an internal support in the same material but are essentially hollow inside. She meticulously sands the surface to a smooth, stone-like finish after which they are fired and painted. The colors of the sculptures are chosen to speak to the intended energy of the pose. Robert has exhibited her sculptures in numerous shows and they have been acquired by several important collections.

Bruno Walpoth was born in 1959 in Bressanone Italy. He lives and works in Ortisei, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy. Walpoth began his training in the studio of his grandfather and uncle, both of whom carved wooden ecclesiastical figures. His more formal art training began in 1973 when he worked under Vincenzo Mussner in Ortisei. In 1978 he moved to Munich to attend the Academy of Fine Arts where he studied
with Professor Hans Ladner until 1984.
In his art, Walpoth combines the education from the studios of Ortisei and their 400-year history of woodcarving with the techniques and forms of contemporary sculpture. Rather than telling a story through his sculpture, Walpoth aims instead to capture an isolated moment of introspection. The artist does not intend his sculptures to be portraits of his live models. Although he does sculpt the actual physical details of a live model, his goal is to immortalize the moment when the model is simply there, present in form but without thoughts or concerns. His sculptures pose rigidly with their gaze eluding the eyes of the viewer. The impact of this elusive gaze is heightened by the fact that his sculptures are most often in the scale of one-to-one. Parts of his sculptures are often painted in typically muted colors; he uses this
coloring to emphasize their clothing, hair or sometimes, their skin. Most widely known for his sculptures in wood, Walpoth has also produced sculptures in cardboard and bronze. His art has been exhibited in numerous solo as well as museum shows and is widely collected internationally.

Pietrasanta, Saturday 24 May, Accesso Galleria is pleased to inaugurate its 11th Season Opening with a compelling group exhibition featuring five international artists:

Susanna Bauer, Sabatino Cersosimo, Marina Kiselyova, Pierre-Alix Nicolet and Nick Willems.
On view from 24 May to 25 June, this year’s Season Opening presents a selection of wall-based works. The exhibition unfolds along the walls of the gallery, emphasizing a shared sensitivity to surface, structure, and the layered meanings embedded in each medium. Ranging from burnt wood to stitched leaves, from oxidized steel to delicate watercolor paintings, each material language is distinct yet together they form a harmonious dialogue.

Susanna Bauer works with found leaves and fine cotton thread, using traditional crochet techniques to mend, embellish, and reimagine natural forms. She will be showing five pieces of artwork of leaves and cotton thread.

Sabatino Cersosimo paints with oil on steel, selectively oxidizing the surface to create ephemeral figures that appear worn by time, or perhaps never fully formed. Describing his technique as an “inverse fresco, he balances control and unpredictability to evoke themes of memory, loss, and endurance. He’ll be showing four oil and oxidation paintings on steel.

Marina Kiselyova merges botanical precision with poetic sensibility. Trained in mathematics, she sees in the spirals of petals and thistles the natural embodiment of the Fibonacci sequence. She will be showing six watercolor paintings on paper of fruits and vegetables.

This year’s opening also marks the Pietrasanta debut of Pierre-Alix Nicolet and Nick Willems.

Pierre-Alix Nicolet creates charcoal drawings where one image overlaps or fades into another, sometimes fragmented and reassembled, at other times dissolving into faint impressions. Though executed in two dimensions, his work evokes a sculptural presence. He will be showing five drawings of charcoal on paper.

Nick Willems “paints with destruction,” using fire as a drawing tool on large wooden panels. Through burning, scraping, and sanding, he crafts highly textured images, often of trees and natural forms, that emerge from layers of wood and grain. He will be showing three large-scale paintings.

Together, these artists form a constellation of practices that, while diverse in medium and approach, resonate in tone. The 11th Season Opening offers a contemplative beginning to the summer season.