Giving shape to stone and time: the story of Gabriele Loi, a sculptor from Sestu

For 30 years he has been shaping stone and time. Gabriele Loi, 51, is a sculptor from Sestu, and holds a small record . In two years he has created 6 sundials, like large sundials, probably more than anyone in Sardinia. And now he also has a dream. To exhibit his sculpture of the 4 Moors in a permanent place.

"When I sculpt I feel absolute freedom," he says from his home, where he has a workshop. Here, whenever he can, he gives vent to his imagination: "The next project is a Madonna del Naufragio, soon it will have its home in the sea of Solanas." But the passion began early: "As a boy I loved to draw, then I went to the workshop of the artist Frediano Marras, a historic sculptor from Sestu. He always told me: look better, learn to observe." In the streets of Sestu there are two of Gabriele's masterpieces: the monument to Falcone and Borsellino, in the Parco della Legalità, and the sculptural group dedicated to his parents, in Via San Gemiliano: "The thing I'm most proud of."

He has turned his passion into a job: «I restore sculptures for the Desogus company, where I have been able to grow a lot». His sundials are all over Sardinia: «I see them a bit as a response to Sciola's sound stones. My teacher was his student. I like them because they mark time. They give you the chance to rediscover yourself a bit, to feel immersed in its flow. A sundial is a bit like a lotus flower, a symbol of life», he says, with the soul of a poet.

He also loves to remember his Armillary Sphere, a large sundial that reproduces the universe and with which he arrived among the top 10 in the international competition for designers and builders of sundials Serafino Zani, in 2011. And then many others: «I had my Andy Warhol period, when I put large glasses on classics of sculpture. And I dedicated a work to blindness, a woman's face with a veil on which I carved a poem in Braille. It says: I stole half of this face to make a gift and I gave half of this face to your imagination». Gabriele's working method is simple: «I like to do it like Michelangelo, the sculpture is already in the block, I just remove what is not needed».

The latest work is the 4 mori: «I used basalt, and in each eye I put a lapis lazuli. Now I would really like to see it exhibited in an important place, the dream would be in Cagliari, next to the Regional Council. It is my tribute to the strength and identity of Sardinia». Like a true artist Loi does not follow just one path: «I let myself be inspired, everything can be art. And in the future I want to do new things».