Founded in 2002 by Davide Cammi and Elenja Sarchi, ED Gallery has established itself on the international market for its rigorous selection of 20th-century applied arts. The gallery reflects the expertise of Davide and Elenja, whose curatorial vision has transformed the space into a hub for study and commerce, with an almost exclusive focus on formal and historical quality. The core of the gallery's work lies in the decorative arts of the 1930s, a golden age of material experimentation. The gallery is renowned for its selection of art glass and ceramics. In this field, ED Gallery has curated notable exhibitions such as "Terre del Novecento," showcasing ceramic sculpture from Arturo Martini to Fausto Melotti. Each piece selected by Davide and Elenja bears witness to that crucial transition when everyday objects become works of art, making the gallery a privileged partner for museums and major international collectors.
Created in the 1920s, the Torso of a Young Man is one of the most brilliant examples of Arturo Martini's mastery of terracotta, a material favored by the artist for its vibrant immediacy. The work depicts an adolescent male torso, armless and broken at the pelvis. This is not a forced mutilation, but a synthetic choice that focuses all attention on the tension of the flesh and the purity of the lines. The surface, intentionally unpolished, retains a porous and warm texture that captures the light, lending the sculpture an almost pulsating vitality. In this work, Martini admirably blends archetypal classicism—reminiscent of Etruscan statuary and Renaissance grace—with a thoroughly modern and restless sensibility. The modeling alternates solid volumes with subtle asymmetries, evoking a pure, melancholic, and timeless beauty. The torso thus becomes an absolute fragment, an icon of youth suspended between stillness and life.
Inscriptions: bottom right “gianese s. c. / venezia”; on the back paper label “. . . 15 Mest[izia] / L. 120. 00 and paper label “XXIV Biennale. . . . of Venice 194[8]”
