FRANCESCA MEROLA

 

Francesca Merola was born in Rome on 18th of August 1964, she is a mother of 3. From a very young age Francesca is very passionate and charmed by Arts in all their aspects.

At 16 Francesca attends a Modern dance school and she participats to various Tv shows as a dancer supporter for POP Music Groups.

At 19 Francesca is chosen to be in a Pop/Disco ‘Duo’, the Fun Fun, realizing 2 LP and few singles. The Fun Fun have few international hits and the duo goes on live concerts tours around the world. They also win golden disk in Holland, Scandinavian Countries and South Africa.

Francesca performs with Fun Fun till age of 24, at the same time she starts a different career in Marketing and Advertising, dealing with clients like Valentino, Fendi, Biaggiotti and Bulgari, all internationally well known for their made in Italy creations.

In the same years, Francesca decides to pursue a degree in Media Marketing to the IED, European institute of design in Rome, which she successfully completes in 1990.

Francesca then works for Rusconi, RSC Corriere della Sera, Cairo, fashion magazines, selling advertising spaces.

In 1990 Francesca attends her first MOSAIC course with Costantino Buccolieri, artist and artisan , who collaborated with leaders artists, representative of the artistic stream of critics like Achille Bonito Oliva, and artists like Cucchi e Paladino. Within Costantino Buccolieri workplace the big Mosaic opera exhibit at The ARA PACIS, was realized. 

Mainly Francesca works on ancient Roman copy or reproductions of mosaics, to realize pictures, boards, tables, floors, using only the technique of the ‘indirect method on paper and marbles’.

In 2000 Francesca specializes in MICRO MOSAICS FILATO, using glass paste and learning the ‘direct on clay’ MOSAICS technique, with Maestro Carlo Meloni.

In 2004 Francesca founds an advertising company which provides maxi advertisings PVC panels to cover up the buildings, using the adverts to sponsor the restoring of historical buildings and monuments .

In 2009 Francesca decides that those PVC panels needed a better ‘end’ and she starts to recycle them, creating stylish gadget bags, to re-sell to those clients who commissioned the advertisements.

In 2011 Francesca creates the fashion brand ‘Lola Ant’.

Lola is a creative ant, who does not like wasting and in her lab /workshop, she recycles and gives a new life to unused and unwanted waste material.

Lola starts with the recycled PVC from the advertising boards, and in a few years, she adds spare chunks of leather, left over of fabrics and today the Lola Ant Brand includes environmental friendly bags, leather and fabric clothing, also swimming wear and accessorises. The materials have also been manufactured by prisoners from Roman female penitentiary of Rebibbia, in an effort to help the women and the life inside the prisons, gaining skills that could be useful once outside the prisons.

In January 2015 Francesca starts to realize Mosaics using marble and glass paste with the direct method on grid with industrial adhesive.

The new subjects are no longer reproduction but original drawing and Francesca starts to sign with her signature ‘FraME’ 

Today the FraMe mosaics are: 

L’inizio- PeoPle-The body-Me at nineteen-The woman 

'Francesca Merola has worked at 'The tree' which was finished in June 2016. 

At the moment she is collaborating with the bookshop of the Ostia archeological site, Fantasy's original representation

One of her works 'The body', is exhibited in the Cafè/shops area for the public enjoyment. 

Followed by 'Fifty" (selfportrait) which participates to the ''Tivoli city International exhibit'', gaining a special mention from the Jury in order to participate to the  IIX Biennale of Rome. 

Also the "Owl", work specifically made  for the the Casina delle civette's (Owls' house) Exhibition in Villa Torlonia , which will take place in January 2017 in Rome. 

The 'Body'  Francesca is working at  the moment is still untitled. 

In September 2016 Francesca goes back to her first love and starts singing again, this time within a chorus, performing classical Italian music repertoire in historical and artistic locations.