43 Facts About Grace Renzi

Grace Renzi, married name Grace Kantuser, was an American painter.

Grace Renzi's art is part of collections and galleries, and has been exhibited throughout the world in solo shows, group shows, and 'salons' on a regular basis.

Grace Renzi is buried at the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

Grace Renzi was born on September 9,1922, in New York, in the borough of Queens, very close to the East River.

Grace Renzi was the last of the eleven children of Michael Renzi and his wife Lucy, born Lucia Viscusi.

Grace Renzi had the opportunity to draw and paint at will since childhood, which she devoted herself to.

Grace Renzi was always an excellent pupil and received scholarships throughout her education.

In 1940, at the age of eighteen, Grace Renzi entered Cooper Union.

Grace Renzi exhibited in shows and group exhibitions, especially in New York.

In 1951, Grace Renzi went to Cuba and stayed there one year.

The first solo exhibition of Grace Renzi's work took place in Havana, followed by another one in 1952.

Grace Renzi arrived in Paris in September 1953 and got to know the artistic milieu of the time.

In Montparnasse, Grace Renzi met the Slovenian composer Bozidar Kantuser who became her husband.

That same year, Grace Renzi participates in a group exhibition at the Galerie du Dragon, her first exhibition in Paris.

The first solo exhibition in Europe of Grace Renzi's works took place in Bordeaux.

In 1958, Grace Renzi exhibited in Paris at the gallery L'Antipoete, notably alongside Jean-Michel Atlan, Jean Fautrier, Hans Hartung, Serge Poliakoff and Sigismond Kolos-Vary.

In 1962, Grace Renzi participated in the exhibition "Donner a voir 2" at the Galerie Creuze in Paris, which was accompanied by a review by Jose Pierre.

Grace Renzi kept in touch with her family in the United States, making and receiving visits.

In 1969, Grace Renzi began teaching at the Marymount International School, in Neuilly.

In 1970, Grace Renzi was invited to participate in two exhibitions in Yugoslavia, in Rijeka and Piran.

In 1972, Grace Renzi had a solo exhibition at the American Center, in Paris, and in 1972 and 1973, she projected stained glass windows for the Monpazier chapel, in the southwest of France.

From 1973 to 1976, Grace Renzi was a resident at the Cite internationale des arts in Paris where the couple met many artists.

Grace Renzi has an atelier there, though smaller than in the past.

Besides painting, throughout the 1980s, Grace Renzi devoted much of her time to printmaking, then mostly working in the Cite des Arts printmaking workshop.

Grace Renzi exhibited regularly in painting and printmaking salons, and participated in many group exhibitions in Denmark, England, France in Nantes, Paris and Perpignan, Germany, Japan, Spain, the United States and Yugoslavia in Slovenia.

Grace Renzi stopped teaching in 1982, and the couple traveled extensively, often visiting Venice, Slovenia and Croatia, but Vienna.

Thanks to the BIMC, Grace Renzi had an atelier in Kamnik, but did not use it much.

Grace Renzi presented her works in Venice with two solo exhibitions hosted by critic Enzo Di Martino, at the Segno Grafico center in 1981 and at the gallery Il Traghetto in 1984.

In 1986, after the death of Malik Oussekine, Grace Renzi began a series of works dedicated to this tragedy, on canvas and paper.

Grace Renzi took part in the Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts in 1987.

In 1988, a solo exhibition of paintings by Grace Renzi was held at the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana.

Towards the end of the decade, in addition to a trip to New York in 1989, Grace Renzi continued to travel in Europe, including an artistic, tourist trip throughout Yugoslavia with Kantuser and the Hoffschir couple.

In 1990, Grace Renzi was pleased to be awarded the title of Bailli d'Honneur de Lalande-de-Pomerol.

Grace Renzi continued to participate in exhibitions of the Cite des Arts printmaking workshop.

Also in 1990, Grace Renzi was interviewed for academic purposes by Aulikki Eromaki and Ingrid Wagner, whereupon the artist had the opportunity to give a lecture at the Berlin University of the Arts in 1991, as part of her participation in the exhibition "Im Unterschied" at the NGBK.

Grace Renzi had turned to acrylics in her work on canvas during the 1980s, but then switched back to oil, now treating the layers differently.

Grace Renzi participated in several books, etchings of hers being for instance part of "Epaves" by Daniel des Brosses, poems that inspired Kantuser.

Grace Renzi had an original engraving chiseled on Kantuser's grave at the Pere Lachaise cemetery.

Grace Renzi appeared in the film "Voyage musical en Slovenie" by Francois Goetghebeur and in a film made in Paris by Chen Tan.

Grace Renzi presented the series of works dedicated to Malik Oussekine at a solo exhibition in 2007, in Givors, where the works were sold at an auction for the benefit of painting workshops for children from disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Grace Renzi died June 4,2011, in Cachan, at the age of 88.

Grace Renzi is buried alongside her husband at the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris.

Grace Renzi works are part of private collections in America and Europe.