“My world was antiques and exploring…”
Leonel Capparelli, who is Italian descent, was born and raised in Uruguay, where his family business was restoring antique furniture.
A friend who had moved from Uruguay to Santa Fe recommended to the Capparellis that they consider New Mexico for a possible move to the states.
His older brother Dardo — who has since moved to Spain where he works in Real State — came first, and about a year later, Leonel did the moved and they found an immediate and healthy market for his finely finished work.
The aesthetic they grew up with, however, was very different from the one they encountered when he arrived in New Mexico.
For the first several years, the Capparellis traveled around northern New Mexico and down into Mexico frequently to buy antiques directly from the people.
“When I first moved here my concept of fine arts and antiques was different — I was used to everything being very fancy, well finished… but in New Mexico, it was a shock to see the imperfection in everything.”
Capparelli’s shock soon evolved into an abiding fascination and a deeper understanding of what perfection means on a human scale.
“We have came all this time trying to achieve perfection, and you can se it in every aspect of life, and then you have people who break the rules, and you start seeing things from another perspective… in imperfection is perfection”.
Galleries throughout the country now buy finished pieces from Hands of America, as well as a growing number of private collectors.
And although recognition from a business such as Bloomingdale’s can be very flattering, Capparelli seem to prefer a more personal approach to selling these furniture pieces that bring the past to the present.
It is this dedication to quality, a love of the material and a desire to giving it new life that has distinguished his work from the beginning and it’s clear that though becoming a father has changed him and his priorities, he will always have an abiding love for the work to which he has devoted his adult life.