Fulgor Silvi may look like a lost member of ZZTop, but more interestingly, he is a Fluxus and mail artist based in Fabriano, Italy, who runs the Pensile Gallery, or in English, Beard Gallery. He came to my attention via several of the mail art and Fluxus related group pages on Facebook, where he posts images like the one above with different artists’ work hanging in his beard, like a hairy Christmas tree decorated with art!

Fulgor describes himself as an “ARTISTA INDIPENDENTE, MULTIMEDIALE, ERRANTE E VISIONARIO” and says this of his project: “Beard Gallery wants to be one of the most proactive and propulsive spaces for those who work in the field of Mail Art and in the Fluxus, Situationist and Dada area. Beard Gallery with over 300 installations by as many international artists, is a particular and unique space: my long and thick beard.” To participate, artists send ten works sized 5 x 5 cm.

I started a new “art” project for 2022 I call “Ferret Lessons,” commissioning some rubber stamps to be made. I mailed postcards made with the stamps to my contacts in the mail art network. I sent Fulgor a selection of pieces, and he arranged them in his beard, as can be seen above. I like what he’s done with them, especially the symmetrical arrangement. I feel honored to be selected to appear in the Beard Gallery!