producer for videos, photoshoots. Casting Director for figurative models at Charles Ray Studio, Santa Monica
For Charles Ray’s art production, Riccardo selects models for the figurative sculptures produced by the studio. He produces the video and photo sessions to initiate the projects to create the final sculpture.
“I have known Riccardo for 20 years. He is essential to my art production as a casting director and producer. In recent years, Riccardo has selected models for all my figurative sculptures. I rely on his creative eye as a casting director to find the perfect models for my work. Because of his background in classic European literature and film he is able to understand my unique casting needs. My retrospective at the Art Institute of Chicago has many contributions from Riccardo including the new nine-foot tall sculpture entitled Huck and Jim, the piece would not have been possible without him. Riccardo’s talent is invaluable to my artistic process.”
Charles Ray (b. 1953) grew up in Chicago and moved to Los Angeles in 1981, where he currently lives and works. His art has been featured in Documenta, three Venice Biennales, and six Whitney Biennials, and his sculptures have been the subject of five retrospectives. The first was organized in 1998 by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and traveled to the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. The second was from 2014 to 2015 at the Kunstmuseum Basel and the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2022, a solo presentation opened at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York as well as simultaneous solo exhibitions at the Centre Georges Pompidou and Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection
Creative Director for TV publicity campaigns at Tractor Vision Inc., Los Angeles
As a Creative Director Riccardo has managed the TV shows set design production workflow that Tractor Vision provides and brings to life for some of the most successful publicity campaigns for FOX Broadcasting and Amazon Studios. Riccardo has overseen and guaranteed the continuity of the style for more than forty TV shows.
“The publicity campaigns that Riccardo Baldini has worked for have generated an impressive interest and great expectation for the series, allowing FOX to then harvest a great success in terms of audiences and widespread acclamation. Riccardo’s work is more than valuable and I would say irreplaceable for his multicultural approach to the work, thanks to his European background and creativity.”
Among some of the shows: Bones, Almost Human, Rake, X Factor, Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, Hotel Hell, MasterChef, American Idol, The Mindy Project, The Red Band Society, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, Scream Queens, Empire, So You Think You Can Dance, Grease Live!, The F Word, Star, The Mick, Ghosted, Lethal Weapon, Prodigal Son, Almost Family.