Iron and Man. The human spirit gracefully fused with the raw essential substance, never to result in a trivial contrivance. The beginnings are no different than those experienced by countless generations of men from the South. An apprenticeship marked by hard work in local workshops. Quite soon though , the repetitive manufacturing process of wrought iron gates and windows, albeit handcrafted, starts to contrast heavily with the artist's creative calling. It is time to embark on a far more captivating challenge, and, totally self taught, he starts to seek out, and reach, the outer boundaries of his very own creativity. With time, the apparently inert, cold metal, is shaped and moulded and finally brought to life, to address the conscience and stir the innermost feelings of mankind. The blacksmith's forge, the hammer and the mind, all as one evermore harmonious unity, shape the iron, creating objects whose collocation among the multitude of artisan, crafted goods can no longer be justified, but which should be, alas, and rightly so, considered and admired for what they are: fine works of Art.
Erasmo Amato's work is never simply transformation, it is indeed an innate and natural shaping into submission of matter. Fire and Iron are there: in the falling soldier of the Monumento ai Caduti in Maiori, to warn us of the horrors of war; in the profiles of dancers, to declaim vital emotions; in the crucifixion, a moribund Christ that looks down towards the Earth, not up to the sky; the beautiful eagle that doesn't want to remain on the ground. Amato's Art is always absolute realism.
Below are some of Amato's works commissioned by public institutions:
1987 Bronze bas-relief realised to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the raising to the status of Diocese of the town of Minori
1983 Monument to the Fallen Soldiers - Maiori
1996 Sculpture for the "Premio Maiori" given to the Rt.Hon. Carla Capponi - Gold Medal for the Resistance
2001-2004 Sculptures for the Roberto Rossellini cinematographic awards
2004 Burning brazier as Monument to the Fallen in Minori