Ottavio Locci Art

Ottavio Locci (1937-2004) was an Italian-American modern art sculptor. His distinguished artistic career unfolded through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. He exhibited and sold his works primarily in United States and Italy, as well as other European and South American countries. Locci’s art sought to move beyond sculpture as a mere imitation of reality. He explored form as a symbolic language, blending influences from Surrealism, Primitivism, and Minimal Art. Over time, his artistic vision evolved toward a synthesis of abstraction and memory, of structural rigor and poetic freedom.

Through his continual experimentation with materials — stone, wood, and color — Locci created a dialogue between sculpture, painting, and installation. His art expresses a subtle balance between matter and light, gesture and thought, evoking a timeless space where Modernity meets Postmodernity.

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Ottavio Locci was born in Saint-Étienne, France, on August 2, 1937, to Italian parents, and spent his early childhood there. After returning to Italy in 1941, he lived in Carbonia, Sardinia, where he completed his primary and middle school education.

In 1956, he moved back to France and settled in Paris, where he continued his studies with technical drawing courses at the Issy-les-Moulineaux Institute. It was during this time that he first came into contact with the world of art.

After four years in Paris, Locci spent a brief period in Canada, before relocating to the United States, where his artistic education expanded both formally and independently. While in New York and Los Angeles, he attended sculpture courses at the Otis Chandler Institute and technical illustration courses at the Los Angeles Trade Technical College. His learning was enriched by extensive visits to major American museums, galleries and by his extensive travels reaching up to Korea.

Locci alternated his work as a technical illustrator at McDonnell Douglas with his career as a sculptor, actively engaging with the Hollywood art scene and exhibiting his works in California galleries.

Selected Exhibitions

1975 Los Angeles, Wood Work Gallery
1976 Los Angeles Hamlett Gallery
1980 Palm Spring, U.S.A, Lights and Colors Gallery
1986 Golbach,Germany, Sala Comunale
1986 Gonnesa,Italy, Municipio
1990 Valencia,Venezuela, Galeria de Arte Ascaso
1994 Carbonia, Museo di Villa Sulcis.