Collection: Costanzo, Luigi

Luigi was born in 1946 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He started carving wood in 1968. He moved to Halifax, N.S. in 1979 to complete a master’s degree in clinical social work. Luigi provided clinical therapy for children in crisis while employed by the IWK Children’s Hospital. He studied stone carving and bronze casting at The Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. He began showing his sculptures in 1988 at the Manuge Gallery in Halifax. He and his partner, Mona; built their home around their three art studios near Lawrencetown Beach.

Artist Statement

My sculptures are inspired by the many stories which I’ve heard from children and their families. I have used these emotional experiences as the creative impetus for my designs. These sculptures develop from a psychological and sociological narrative. My sculpting process begins as an entry into my written journal. I ask myself “what does this emotional experience look like?” It then develops from a pencil drawing, then into a clay sculpture, and finally into stone.

Stone carving is a slow, meditative experience. The process can be transformative. Each of my projects has taken life’s rough moments and opens them up to the discovery of our shared humanity. The finished work may be the sculpture, but the creative process is never ending.