Andrea Felice

Bringing innovation to the past

• Andrea has taken over the family workshop
• His creations are sold to museums and art academies around the world
• He has mastered and preserves all the traditional techniques and materials

Mould maker and restorer of cultural heritage, Andrea Felice is an internationally recognised expert in the technique and history of plaster casting. Andrea runs the family workshop, close to Rome, founded in 1970 by his father Romolo, who started his career during the golden era of Cinecittà Studios in the mid-1950s. After many years of apprenticeship, Andrea took over the workshop in 2004 and since then he has considerably increased the plaster cast collection of FeliceCalchi, which numbers thousands of casts and sculptures. Each cast is a unique piece, made according to an ancient tradition and artisanal techniques, and his popular creations are sold all over the world.

Interview

©Andrea Felice

©Sofia Felice

What was your father's key teaching?

Learning this difficult craft is like learning a new language, like acquiring a new vision of things. You don't learn to be an artisan, you become an artisan. My father always told me to make works beyond my current skills, in order to take a new step forward every single day.

Is there any creation that you are particularly proud of?

I am proud of my work every time I see the emotion of my clients. I feel fulfilled when I send my casts to Art Academies all over the world: I consider them as seeds that will inspire many young students.

Any examples that anyone can admire?

I am really proud of my work when I walk around Rome – I see a lot of my creations placed in some of the most iconic locations of my incredible hometown. You can see them in Piazza del Campidoglio and in Villa Pamphili, in Piazza del Popolo as well as in the Vatican City.

What is your philosophy?

My philosophy is to give maximum value to the tradition of preserving the techniques and materials used in the past. Craftsmanship is the result of centuries of fails and successes of those who preceded us. The traditional technique must be fully understood. I think that today the return to the past is, in itself, innovation.

Andrea Felice is a master artisan: he began his career in 1988 and he started teaching in 2004

Works

©Andrea Felice

©Andrea Felice

©Andrea Felice

©Andrea Felice

©Andrea Felice

Where