Brenda Zlamany Returns to Ancestral Village in Calabria for Studio Practice
Brenda Zlamany, famous for her 2016 artwork 'Portrait of Yale's First Seven Women PhDs,' has opened her studio in a former sausage factory in her ancestral village near Pollino National Park in Calabria, Italy. Since April 2024, she’s been chasing a dream that started during her junior year at Tyler School of Art in Rome. A century ago, her grandfather left this village as a traveling cobbler, and now she returns as a wandering portrait artist. The village being car-free allows her to connect with locals over coffee and shop for fresh produce and fish. Although she wasn't born there, she feels deeply at home. Her property includes a 300-year-old building, a forno, and items from a self-sufficient woman. She presses her own olive oil and paints with oil from Naples, and her favorite local spot is the Museo della Liquirizia 'Giorgio Amarelli' near Rossano, which highlights licorice making.
Key facts
- Brenda Zlamany works in an old sausage factory in her ancestral village near Pollino National Park, Calabria, Italy.
- She has been in the space since April 2024, but first saw the village as a teenager on a junior year abroad at Tyler School of Art in Rome.
- Her grandfather left the village as an itinerant cobbler 100 years ago.
- The village has no cars; passageways are narrow, requiring single-file walking.
- She grows her own olives and her stonemason pressed olive oil from them.
- Her compound includes a 300-year-old building, a forno, and a house with objects from a previous owner.
- She uses oil paint, sourced from a supplier in Naples.
- Her favorite local museum is the Museo della Liquirizia 'Giorgio Amarelli' near Rossano, dedicated to licorice production.
Entities
Artists
- Brenda Zlamany
Institutions
- Tyler School of Art
- Museo della Liquirizia 'Giorgio Amarelli'
- New York Central Art Supply
Locations
- Calabria
- Italy
- Pollino National Park
- Rome
- Naples
- Rossano