Giorgio Romani

Woodturner

©Giorgio Romani

Wild wood

Giorgio is a self-taught woodturner
He studied Philosophy and Sculpture
His favourite material is green wood

After graduating from the Fine Arts Academy in Florence, Giorgio Romani devoted himself to wood. Beginning with wood sculptures, in 2005 he became a self-taught woodturner, at first just out of curiosity, then as a life choice. While training, he worked as an apprentice carpenter and cabinet maker, then as a carver. “Every material has its potential, it’s up to everyone to set it free," he says. After ten years making basic products for shops, Giorgio now creates contemporary design objects, such as bowls, vessels, hollow forms, unique furniture pieces and sculptures. In 2020, during the pandemic, he moved back to Abruzzo, his beloved region, to focus on his essential need for wilderness.

Interview

©Giorgio Romani

©Giorgio Romani

Which kind of wood do you turn?: I turn green wood, that is to say alive, wet, undry wood. It’s less stable, it has unpredictable behaviours. It’s very sensitive, reacting to many variables, such as temperature and weather.
Do you choose the trees to cut the wood from?: Not at all. On the contrary, I want to give value to firewood: I buy it from the loggers, changing its destiny. Green wood lets me have a deeper relationship with the material, starting from the tree felling, following every phase, from life to the finished product.
Do you have a favourite wood?: After 15 years, I have realised that it’s oak. Because of its smell and its consistency under my fingers, its colour and nuances, because of how it reacts to lathe turning and finishing. Also due to its challenging burls.
Is there a mystery in wood?: Each wood has its own personality. On one hand, I feel a strong impulse to unveil what a tree hides inside, but on the other hand I like to add my own mystery with the shapes I choose to model, especially hollow ones that create darkness inside.

Giorgio Romani is a master artisan: he began his career in 2004 and he started teaching in 2014