Olga Lepri’s Umbrian Studio: Anatomy, Touch, and Transcultural Memory
Olga Lepri, born in 1997, operates from a studio in Foligno, Umbria, which consists of three distinct rooms and a library. She meticulously hand-stretches her canvases and layers them with rabbit-skin glue, wax, and gesso, drawing inspiration from artists like Cecily Brown and Mikhail Vrubel. One room is dedicated to reading and creating watercolors, while another accommodates her work on several canvases simultaneously. Central to her artistic approach is the use of shells for tactile exploration. In 2023, Lepri relocated to Foligno to reconnect with her heritage after completing her studies at Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia and obtaining a Master’s from Luiss Business School. She has participated in both solo and group exhibitions, receiving numerous accolades, including the Mascha Starec Prize in 2017.
Key facts
- Olga Lepri (b. 1997) works in a studio in Foligno, Umbria, on the top floor of a 1930s rationalist building.
- The studio has three main rooms plus a drawing room and a library.
- Lepri hand-stretches canvases and applies grounds of rabbit-skin glue, wax, and gesso on jute or cotton.
- She uses shells as tactile references to understand convexity and sharpness, a method from her studies of blind people's spatial perception.
- Her painting process builds up acrylic and tempera layers before oil, often hand-ground with linseed or walnut oil.
- She studied at Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia and earned a Master’s from Luiss Business School in Rome.
- In 2017 her animation 'VISITOR' won the Mascha Starec Prize at the Giornate Animate di Venezia.
- In 2026 she was a finalist at CREA OPEN in Venice with a Special Mention.
- Her solo show 'Olga Lepri. Conchiglie. Corpi mirabili' was at Galleria Marignana Arte in 2026.
- She moved to Foligno in 2023 to establish a studio as a site of identity reconnection between Italian and Russian cultures.
Entities
Artists
- Olga Lepri
- Cecily Brown
- Michail Vrubel
- Pavel Filonov
- José Saramago
- Mauro Zocchetta
Institutions
- Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia
- Luiss Business School
- Galleria Marignana Arte
- Premio Mascha Starec
- Giornate Animate di Venezia
- Premio Combat
- Paratissima Factory
- CREA OPEN
- Museo Archeologico di Calatia
- Giovanni Remoli Art Gallery
- Museo Civico di Todi
- Galleria Giovanni Bonelli
- Museo della Penna di Perugia
- Rocca di Umbertide Centro d’Arte Contemporanea
- ArtVerona
- Paratissima
- Galleria Gare 82
- Magazzini del Sale
Locations
- Foligno
- Umbria
- Italy
- Venezia
- Venice
- Rome
- Bruxelles
- Brussels
- Russia
- Calatia
- Todi
- Perugia
- Umbertide
- Torino
- Turin
Sources
- Espoarte —