DOMENICA DE FERRANTI, CHRISTIAN DE FERRANTI & ANSELM DESIGN
SHARED ROOTS
“To dedicate your life to making is an act of quiet defiance. For these three artists—a sculptor, a furniture maker, and a painter—craft is both a calling and a form of meditation. Though their mediums differ, they are united by a shared belief: that true creation is fearless, guided by process, and grounded in integrity.“
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There is a quiet defiance in dedicating one’s life to the act of making. For these three artists—sculptor, furniture maker, and painter—craft is both calling and meditation. Their work, though rooted in different disciplines, is bound by a shared ethos: that creation should be fearless, process-led, and rich with integrity.
Sculptor Domenica de Ferranti begins her work not with a plan but with a feeling, letting form emerge before she understands its source. Her materials shift from wax to bronze, from clay to carved wood, and she welcomes each transformation. Her work finds its voice in the grain, in the weight of metal.
Furniture maker Anselm Fraser designs from the imagination outward. Forms come to him in still moments, often before pencil meets paper, and are later shaped with a blend of traditional techniques and technological experimentation. For him, timber is more than material; it is memory, reverence, and possibility.
Painter Christian Ziani de Ferranti shares this instinct for risk. Working from her studio in rural Hampshire, she is immersed in the energy of an art school she founded, surrounded by fellow makers and the shifting moods of the land. She moves fluidly through oils, acrylic, ink, watercolour, and charcoal. Her work, like her practice, is bold and unflinching.
Though their individual paths have evolved independently, this exhibition reflects a subtle, often unspoken dialogue that has flowed between them over many years. As Christian notes, “Almost without realising it, art has over the years formed a large part of regular dialogue between the three of us, and we wondered what might happen if we put selected works in the same room.” The result is an exhibition that invites the viewer into that long-running conversation, one shaped by shared experiences, divergent approaches, and an enduring curiosity about form, meaning, and making.
At first glance, the connections may seem elusive. But beneath the surface lies a shared root system that is familial, creative, and deeply human.
Hester Baldwin - Managing Director 2025
DOMENICA DE FERRANTI
Biography
Domenica trained as a sculptor in Florence before spending several years travelling solo, using a bag of plasticine to document her experiences through maquettes and sketches. These works often became the starting point for finished sculptures exhibited back in the UK.
In 2015, while travelling in Mongolia, she sustained a serious brain injury after being struck by a motorcyclist — an event that profoundly shaped both her life and artistic direction. During recovery, she enrolled in John Lloyd’s furniture-making course in East Sussex, where she began to explore wood as a sculptural material.
It was through this shift in her practice that she met her husband, Anselm Fraser. The connection marked the beginning of a deeply collaborative and creative partnership, both personally and professionally.
Domenica’s work now focuses on themes of guardianship, nurture, and humility, expressed through symbolic forms such as human figures, birds, and trees. Her sculptures begin in clay, wax, or plaster before being cast in bronze or reinterpreted in wood. She works exclusively with native UK timbers, often sourced from her father-in-law’s land or from sustainable sawmills like English Woodland Timber in Sussex. She also works closely with Sculpture Castings foundry in Hampshire.
ANSELM FRASER DESIGN
Biography
Anselm Fraser grew up at The Chippendale School of Furniture in Scotland, founded by his father in 1985 — the year before he was born. His earliest memories are rooted in the workshop, sitting at a child-sized bench while students crafted around him. Although he initially pursued a career in finance, he returned to woodworking over a decade ago, fully embracing the family craft.
After years of producing commissioned work in a shared Bristol workshop, he took two years to design and build his debut collection. Just weeks before its London launch, a devastating fire destroyed the entire site — including all completed pieces. Around that same time, he met sculptor Domenica, and the two were engaged nine weeks later.
Today, they share a London studio — their workspaces separated only by a curtain. While maintaining distinct creative identities, their practices are quietly connected: many of Domenica’s sculptures are carved from the same trees used in his furniture. He works exclusively with native UK timber, often sourced from family land or sustainable sawmills like English Woodland Timber in Sussex.
Among their occasional collaborations, the most personal remains a handcrafted wooden bathtub — a symbolic piece created at the beginning of their journey into parenthood, and nearly the birthplace of their first child.
CHRISTIAN DE FERRANTI
Biography
Christian Ziani de Ferranti is a visual artist working in Hampshire using pen, ink, oils, pastels, watercolour and charcoal. Her recent work is largely acrylic. This body of work explores painting on a larger scale, enabling her to work using her whole body. Layers of paint are built up and cut through creating a rhythm of line and layers. One of her greatest inspirations is the ever-changing landscape both in her local Hampshire surroundings and elsewhere. She spends as much time as possible on the Isle of Tiree in the Hebrides where her particular fascination is for the seabirds, their lives and habitat. Christian has exhibited at the Mall Galleries, The Gallery at Green & Stone, Gallery Different, London W1, Stockbridge Town Hall with the Stilwell group, and the gallery Hungerford. In addition to this she runs a small art school, College Arts, meaning that she is daily immersed in and inspired by the conversations and work of the various artists involved.
Displayed Here are a selection of Artworks. Please visit the Exhibition to see all works; alternatively email us at thegallery@greenandstone.com to request a full artworks list.