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Gabriel Akre Newsletter #8

November 2025

Fine Artist - Figure sculptor

My Greatest Achievement Yet

Hello and welcome, have I got news for you!
This passed season I finished my Graduate in Residency year at the Florence Academy of Art and I have moved into a new studio in Florence, a shared space where I am living the life of a professional, full-time artist. I partook in an exhibition at the heart of Florence that I am jazzed to tell you about where I unveiled a new, never before seen sculpture. Finally, I have taken on commissions and am pursuing personal work.

 VISIT MY WEBSITE 
 

Path to Paradise

The Path to Paradise exhibition brought together 37 international artists reinterpreting Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise in a contemporary light. Collaborating with the Pneuma Art Foundation and Frilli Gallery in Florence, we put on a show that I think will be hard to top for the rest of my career. Frilli provided exact bronze replicas of Ghiberti’s famous and beautiful relief sculptures. Then us artists were tasked to pick one of the reliefs (out of 10) and create a work of art inspired by the story depicted there.

The biggest kicker? The location. Our shows venue was none other than Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, one of the most historically significant buildings in Italy. Here, Michelangelo’s David stood outside for hundreds of years before being moved inside for safety. Cellini’s masterpiece stands outside in the Piazza. The building has served as the ruling center for most of the city’s history. I cannot describe the honor I felt at having one of my sculptures in this meaningful place.

The show was on display in the Sala d’Arme room from November 2-11, 2025.

Visit the Catalogue for the exhibition here!

 

Fall from Grace

My sculpture that I displayed in the exhibition which I kept secret until now.

Inspiration: The relief sculpture of Adam and Eve by Lorenzo Ghiberti.

Artist statement: This sculpture is an allegorical exploration of Adam and Eve's fall from divine grace, immediately after the original sin. The postures of their bodies reveal their spiritual state: closed, separated, turned inward. Adam points to his chest, a gesture expressing the new inner awareness that has struck them both. The two faces, turned away from each other, symbolize the rupture of communion that follows the fall. The work captures the moment when innocence is shattered and spiritual solitude takes shape, making visible the existential burden of sin and loss.

Bronze, 148x46x36 cm, EURO 27,000, available through Frilli Gallery in Florence.

Adam and Eve, from the Gates of Paradise by Lorenzo Ghiberti

 

Saint John Paul II

Now I turn to the new stuff! Currently in the studio I am working on a new piece, a portrait bust of the great Saint John Paul II as part of a commission for a catholic college in America.

 

My First Podcast Appearance

I appeared on the Theology of the Body Institute YouTube channel for a conversation with Christopher West about Art and Beauty. Well worth a listen!

Watch the Interview Here!

 

18th Annual ARC Salon

My sculpture San Miniato verso il Monte advanced into the Finals of this years ARC Salon, an international competition for realism art where any artist in the world can apply.

 

All of my work is for sale! If any piece interests you, please reach out! All sculptures are available in bronze and some in resin. I am open for commissions.
Contact me for prices.

 VIEW MY WEBSITE! 

Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy

Gabriel Akre Newsletter #8

Via Palazzuolo
Florence
Italy

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