Design and Art Australia Online

Franecisco Petrolo was born in Chiaravalle Centrale, Calabria, Italy, in 1951.

Growing up in a small village, Petrolo credits blacksmithing for giving him a positive chance in life. The sounds coming from the local blacksmith, who worked under the bridge in the village, captivated Petrolo from an early age. These same sounds continue to enchant Petrolo who likens the sounds made when working with metal to music. Petrolo entered the industry as a child running errands for the blacksmith and then further ingratiated himself in the trade by beginning an apprenticeship with Nazzareno de Francesco in an area a few kilometres from his village. The apprenticeship lasted ten years and gave him the foundations and skills required for the ancient art of the master blacksmith. Francesco worked in Germany and also in Florence, where he restored classic iron work, at a workshop on the River Arno at Montelupa. There he immersed himself in the rich medieval past of Tuscany, and this period has remained as one of the mainstreams of his inspiration. Petrolo’s design and work reflects this inspiration and the commercial work that he is commissioned for around Sydney often reflects these classic styles.

He moved to Australia where he set up his Sydney workshop, Francesco’s Forge. It was in Sydney that Francesco, away from his native land, started to evolve his own particular style. The new country provided the opportunity and the inspiration. The fusion of his past traditions with the Australian landscape, so different from his own native Calabria, provided a new energy, and fresh insight into his own culture. The landscape and its beauty are never far from Petrolo’s work. He likes to keep his pieces looking as natural as possible by imitating the shapes and forms created by nature; it is rare to see any sharp edges in his work. Growing up in Calabria also provides inspiration for Petrolo who draws on his experiences in the village, the sense of community and the way of life in much of his work. Gente in piazza is an excellent example of this – Petrolo has attempted to recreate the scene of a group of people standing around the centre square chatting idly. The work is an attempt to highlight the way traditional life in Calabria is different from the Sydney lifestyle, it asks the audience to question their own beliefs about what is important in life. Drawing on his past in Calabria, his time in Florence, and his present, Petrolo’s perceptions of what it is that ought to be valued has become his trademark.

Petrolo works primarily with iron, bronze and copper. Through his mastery of the formal traditional craft he has a knowledge of the strengths and limitations of the materials, allowing him to exercise whimsical creativity in his designs. His medium is primarily sculpture including public art. He enjoys the all encompassing nature of public art – that it is in the open for everybody to see and enjoy rather than in a gallery which he believes can be static. Petrolo worked on a number of collaborations, including one with Joe Hurst for Fairfield Council, and has a high level of involvement in Indigenous art. Aside from his sculpture, Petrolo also does design work creating original pieces of furniture, balustrades and more traditional iron work in fencing and gates.

Petrolo has exhibited in various galleries across Sydney and in 2006 exhibited in Rome, Italy. His works are featured in some of Sydney’s well-known restaurants such as Arte de Cucina and Luccio’s, and also in foyers of public buildings such as the Governor Phillip Tower, Sydney.

Writers:

Pollock, Brent
DeLorenzo, Catherine

Date written:

2009

Last updated:

2011