EN
“I started working with marble in Carrara, and from the first day, I carved marble it was impossible for me to leave it.
For me marble is more than just material, it is my co-creator, driving my imagination during work.”
Marianna Blier (b. 1976) is an Austrian sculptor, whose practice is focused on figurative art and inspired by the aesthetics of classical Antiquity and the Renaissance. Her work implements traditional hand-carving techniques with a particular focus on Carrara marble.
She attended the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, and the International Summer Academies in Berlin and Salzburg.
Marianna works with various materials, including different types of stone, bronze, and ceramic. Her real passion, however, is marble—the material that caught her imagination with its vital power and spiritual beauty, a beauty that is both deep and light, delicate and strong.
Marianna studied the traditional, hand-carving marble techniques directly from craftsmen based in Carrara, Italy. Working exclusively by hand, Marianna follows Michelangelo’s approach of direct carving.
Looking to classical antiquity, Renaissance Italy, as well as indigenous cultures, Marianna creates contemporary interpretations of the ancient myths and narratives. Marianna’s sculptures are about what flesh and marble have in common. Her pieces merge classical aesthetics with contemporary sensibilities. While her works are contemporary in style, Marianna’s choice of marble and her approach to the human form evokes the classical tradition of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture. Her art is about what it means to be an artist and search for beauty in today’s world.
Marianna works in her atelier in Vienna, Austria and in the marble studios of Carrara, Italy.
Solo Exhibitions:
2025 Poetics of Hands. Fall of Icarus. Red Carpet Showroom, Kalrsplatz, Vienna, Austria
2025 Born in the Marble Dust. Studio Donna del Marmo, Carrara, Italy
2024 Lacrimae Rerum. Church Madonna in Teras (Chiesa della Madonna delle Lacrime), Carrara, Italy
2022 Donna del Marmo. Gallery Maac Marmi, Carrara, Italy
2022 Pieta Serrone. Piazza Duomo, Carrara, Italy
2019 Sky Boat. Piazza Duomo, Carrara, Italy
2013 Endless Travelling. United Nations, Vienna, Austria
2012 Gleichnisse und Allegorien. Lange Nacht der Kirchen.Militärpfarre St. Nepomuk, Vienna, Austria
Selected Group Exhibitions, Symposiums:
2027 XVI Florence Biennale 2027, Participating artist
2025 Precious Moments: the Beauty of Being. Mondi Gallery, Vienna, Austria
2025 C/Art festival Creativi in dialogo. Carrara, Italy
2024 La pietra dei sogni, Sculpture and Performance, Festival “Torano Notte e Giorno”, Torano, Italy
2021 Sulle orme di Michelangelo, Capella di San Martino, Gorzegno, Italy
2021 MATERIA PRIMA, 6. International Symposium in Lecce Stone, Gallipoli, Italy
2021 White Carrara Downtown, Palazzo Binelli, Carrara, Italy
2020 Planet Erde. International Symposium, Kunstbahnhof Klangen, Weinburg, Austria
2020 White Carrara Downtown, Palazzo Binelli, Carrara, Italy
2017 Anima Mundi, Palazzo Ca’ Zanardi, Venice, Italy
2016 Parallel Vienna. Gallery Aa Collections. Vienna, Austria
2016 Whoja Vu Folx! New Jörg, Vienna, Austria
2015 Self Identities. Venice Art House, Veniece, Italy
2013 B.AGL Art Fair Berlin, Germany
2014 8. Internationales Kunstsymposium “Atelier an der Donau”, Pöchlarn, Austria
2014 New York Art Connection Gallery. NY, Long Island, USA
IT
Marianna Blier (nata nel 1976) è una scultrice austriaca. Ispirata all’estetica dell’Antichità e del Rinascimento, il suo lavoro si concentra sull’arte figurativa e sull’uso di tecniche tradizionali di scultura a mano, in particolare nella lavorazione del marmo di Carrara.
Ha studiato presso l’Università di Arti Applicate di Vienna e ha frequentato le Accademie Estive Internazionali di Berlino e Salisburgo.
Marianna lavora con diversi materiali, tra cui varie tipologie di pietra, il bronzo e la ceramica. Tuttavia, il marmo rappresenta il cuore della sua ricerca artistica: un materiale che l’ha affascinata per la sua forza vitale e la sua bellezza spirituale, al tempo stesso profonda e luminosa, delicata e potente.
Marianna ha appreso le tecniche tradizionali di scultura del marmo a mano direttamente da artigiani di Carrara, in Italia. Lavora esclusivamente a mano. Seguendo l’approccio di Michelangelo, pratica la scultura diretta dal blocco di marmo.
Guardando all’antichità classica, all’Italia rinascimentale e alle culture indigene, Marianna crea interpretazioni contemporanee di antichi miti e racconti. Le sue sculture esplorano ciò che carne e marmo hanno in comune. Le sue opere fondono l’estetica classica con una sensibilità contemporanea. Pur essendo contemporanee nello stile, la scelta del marmo e l’approccio alla forma umana evocano la tradizione classica della scultura greca e romana antica. La sua arte riflette sul significato dell’essere artista e sulla ricerca della bellezza nel mondo di oggi.
Marianna lavora nel suo atelier a Vienna, in Austria, e negli studi di marmo di Carrara, in Italia.
DE
Marianna Blier ist eine österreichische Bildhauerin. Inspiriert von der Ästhetik der Antike und der Renaissance konzentriert sich ihre Arbeit auf die figurative Kunst und den Einsatz traditioneller handwerklicher Bildhauertechniken, insbesondere in der Bearbeitung von Carrara-Marmor.
Sie besuchte der Universität für angewandte Kunst in Wien sowie an den Internationalen Sommerakademien in Berlin und Salzburg.
Die traditionellen Techniken der handwerklichen Marmorbearbeitung erlernte Marianna direkt bei Kunsthandwerkern in Carrara, Italien. Ihr Arbeitsprozess ist vollständig handgeführt. In Anlehnung an Michelangelos Vorgehensweise praktiziert sie die direkte Steinbearbeitung und arbeitet unmittelbar aus dem Marmorblock heraus.
Mit Blick auf die klassische Antike, das Italien der Renaissance sowie auf indigene Kulturen schafft Marianna zeitgenössische Interpretationen alter Mythen und Erzählungen. Ihre Skulpturen erforschen das Gemeinsame von Fleisch und Marmor und verbinden klassische Ästhetik mit einer zeitgenössischen Sensibilität. Obwohl ihre Arbeiten eine zeitgenössische Formsprache besitzen, rufen die Wahl des Marmors und ihr Zugang zur menschlichen Figur die große Tradition der antiken griechischen und römischen Skulptur in Erinnerung. Ihre künstlerische Arbeit reflektiert die Bedeutung des Künstlerseins und die Suche nach Schönheit in der heutigen Welt.
Marianna arbeitet in ihrem Atelier in Wien, Österreich, und in den Marmorateliers von Carrara, Italien.