Laura Bianchi and Ivano Balluchi, two artists who lived or live in the Tuscany region of Italy have one important thing in common, other than their immense talent. They are both represented by two insightful artists in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.

Gold/Smith Gallery owners, Karen Swartsberg and John Vander, discovered Laura Bianchi at a small street Art Fair in Volterra, Italy over 30 years ago and Karen discovered a small painting propped up on an antique credenza at the outdoors Antiquariato in Lucca, Italy in 2021 that Balluchi had painted 30 years ago! Serendipity had brought these two artists together with these Maine “galleristi” who truly believe in their talent and are now sharing their discovery with all that come to visit there 51 year old art gallery in Boothbay Harbor.

Laura is a hyperrealist who lives in the sleepy village of Vecchiano, near Pisa. This quiet setting allows her the valuable space she needs to concentrate on her super precise paintings. She’s a very private person and only goes out to photograph details of clothing, shoes and hairstyles. Her portraits are inventions of just normal folks standing on the edge of space in a moment of pause or reflection. The artist’s hyper-definition of her subjects brings them to life beyond what a photo could achieve. Her oils are amazing and unforgettable.

Ivano Balluchi was a professor fine art at the Academia di Belle Arte in Livorno. When his school was closed on weekends and holidays he’d prep his wood panels, mix his painting and head south to plein air at the rolling hillsides along La Costa Etrusca, the Etruscan Coast. He loved that landscape filled with Etruscan villages and tombs between Livorno and Grosseto. He knew it like the back of his hand. It was his lover and for 40 years he painted this place and you can almost understand which painting is older than a similar one by the size and number of cypress trees on a hillside. His paintings are impressionistic and moody. Though not precise, they capture the elusive romantic kingdom that was known as Etrusca, the first culturally great civilization of Italy.

The exhibit “Two Tuscan Artists” is featured at Gold/Smith Gallery, 8 McKown St., Boothbay Harbor now through October. The gallery is open every day 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There’s a reception for the exhibit Saturday, Sept. 15 from 4 to 6 p.m. The public is invited to enjoy two great exhibits and libations with chocolates!

For more information the gallery can be reached at 207-633-6252 or www.goldsmithgallery.net