| Born on November 7, 1960 in Annapolis, Maryland from parents of Sienna and Florence Italy, Stephen Nannini displayed a natural ability for stone work at a very early age. Following in the footsteps of his father, Stephen began apprenticing in all forms of masonry by his early teens. His talent for carving stone was soon discovered by builders in Newport, RI in 1981. This presented Nannini with a lucrative career, contracting architectural marble works of the most difficult kind (2 pics. top right). He remained in Newport working to restore and build mansions of old and new until 1996. Then he relocated with his wife and daughter to South Florida. Here he continued to further his craft by pursuing only the most complex stone work on the many Mediterranean style mansions of South Florida and the east coast. |
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| It was around this time Stephen began sculpting at his ocean front home studio in Key Largo (pic right). Soon he launched his second career as artist with an award- winning series of 14 marble dolphins (pic. bottom center). Constantly using new mediums his work began appearing in gallery’s across south Florida and in homes across the country. Abstracts to marine life, in mediums from lava to coral, and onyx to granite, as sculptor and art instructor for the Ocean Reef Club from 2005 to 2010, Nannini continued to expand his range of stone mediums and sculpture styles. |
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| Now at age 52, he works mostly on commission and is always looking for a new challenge. The piece on display (pic right) is from Stephen Nannini’s personal collection, as he is currently on sabbatical. Nannini’s work is very unique. He believes his approach to sculpting is just as unique. Nannini listens to the raw material. “If I apply the required amount of concentration, the stone will tell me what it wants to be.” Stephen Nannini 1998 |
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