Lisa Sotilis is famous throughout the world for her unique jewelry pieces chosen by the crème de la crème of the international jet set such as Her Majesty the Empress of Iran Farah Pahlavi, Her Majesty Queen Maria José of Belgium, the last Queen of Italy, Princess Maria Beatrix of Savoy, Princess Royal Munira al Saud, Rudolf Nureyev, Andy Warhol, Margot Fontayn, Roland Petit and Zizi Jeanmere, Claudia Cardinale, Annie Girardot, Mimie Lay, Mitzi Newhouse, Madame Schlumberger and many other members of the high society.
Lisa’s first client was Salvador Dalí, who, before the official opening of his first show at the Iolas Gallery in New York, bought two of Lisa’s great gold art creations for his wife Gala. Her second client was Giorgio de Chirico, who decided to surprise his wife Isabella Farr with Lisa’s large 24kt gold and platinum necklace and 24kt gold watch with Cartier movement.
Sotilis’ achievements include an exclusive contract with Cartier, NY, in the 1970s, for the design and execution of the bezels of their famous watches.
All Lisa Sotilis jewelry is handmade, hammered and chiseled by hand. Most of them are made of 24kt gold. 24 carat gold? Yes. We all know that pure gold is too soft to use without damaging it. But Lisa couldn’t resist the magic of her, warmth and impressive elegance of her. With her signature technique, unique in the world, of outlining the back of the jewel with 18kt gold wire, her jewelery becomes strong and durable enough to wear every day. The profiling process is cumbersome, tedious, and has to be repeated many times, until the 24kt gold foil and 18kt wire become a smooth surface. Lisa says: it is a challenge to the laws of physics, since 24kt gold melts before 18kt gold. How Lisa is able to pull it off remains a secret to her artistic genius and her proverbial tenacity.
The final product is simply fascinating.
Lisa Sotilis’ one-of-a-kind jewelry creations are entirely handcrafted, hand-hammered, and sculpted in 24-karat gold, platinum, or pure silver, and similar to ancient jewelry techniques, her jewelry is backed with precious metal alloys. stronger to provide structural support for the highly sculptural forms.
However, the miracle, the mystery and the sheer genius of artistically fusing a pure noble metal with an alloy of equal brilliance showcases the many talents of Lisa Sotilis.
Also in keeping with her antique/modern theme, Lisa sometimes features ancient cut stones, beads or relics and a myriad of gemstones often including one or a combination of the following; emeralds, rubies, sapphires, pearls, jade, amethyst, turquoise, coral or lapis lazuli.
Daniel Morris – art expert and collector
Biographical notes:
Lisa Sotils was born in Athens (Greece). She is descended from a heroic and aristocratic Greek family that has contributed considerably to the nation’s independence.
Sotilis studied art at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, Milan, Italy.
At the age of 16, on the occasion of his solo exhibition at the Gian Ferrai Gallery in Milan, Italy, art critics and historians Luciano Budigna, Raffaele De Grada, Franco Russoli and Giorgio Kaisserlian, as well as renowned artists Renato Guttuso, Ennio Morlotti and Marcello Mascherini noticed his extraordinary talent.
Sotilis’s international debut took place at the Berlin Museum, where renowned professor Jannasch introduced the 18-year-old artist as a child prodigy. On that occasion, Lisa met Alexander Iolas, the world’s leading art dealer, who immediately offered her an exclusive contract and introduced her to all of his major galleries in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Madrid, Geneva, Athens and Rome. , and placed her among the greats of the last century: Andy Warhol, René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, Giorgio de Chirico, Jean Tinguely, Roberto Matta and others.
Salvatore Quasimodo, Nobel Prize for Literature (1959), in his book “Visti da Salvatore Quasimodo” (1969 edition) writes about Sotilis: “revelation of the influential power of Greek myth”.
Lisa Sotilis was Giorgio de Chirico’s assistant, the only assistant for his large sculpture projects financed by world-renowned art dealer and collector, Alexander Iolas. She was the only one authorized by the Master of the Metaphysical art movement to touch up his waxes before casting.
Sotilis also devoted himself to the technique of fresco painting. He won a competition to fresco the Chapel of Sant’Antonio da Padova in the Church of San Giovanni Battista alla Creta, Milan, Italy.
One of Sotilis’ greatest achievements is the creation of a monumental work for posterity: the 6-meter (19.7 ft) high entrance gate in solid bronze with gold-plated laurel leaf motif side decorations for the I Papandi Tou Kyriou (Reception of the Lord in the Temple) Greek Orthodox Church in Amman, Jordan.
Lisa Sotilis is a very prolific artist. Her sculptures, her paintings, her jewelry, furniture, and home decor accessories are on display in museums and private collections around the world.
To see Lisa’s jewelry, click here: https://vimeo.com/59891857