Riccardo Murelli, sculptor and photographer, dies at 44

Riccardo Murelli (Rome, 1975) died prematurely at age 44, just weeks before his 45th birthday. The sculptor, who also worked as a photographer and collaborator for Artribune, was known for his large-scale metal environmental installations in Umbria, Lazio, and Russia. After studying in Perugia, he became an assistant to Beverly Pepper in 1996 and began making sculptures at 19. He exhibited in Perugia, Rome, and Milan, and throughout the 2010s worked extensively in Russia, where he found fertile ground for ambitious projects. He also collaborated with design companies. Murelli is survived by his son Umberto Murelli, a photographer.