Italy's loss is the American contemporary art world's gain. And for Italian sculptor Riccardo Berlingeri, who now lives in Middletown, the loss of his teaching job released a fury of pent-up self-expression and discomfort with what was going on in the world. The twin needs of creative necessity and reading came together in new ways that can only be labeled "inspired."

"2005" Berlingeri transforms the pages of The New York Times into large paper sculptures that hang on the wall. It is his way of recycling the newspapers, transforming his anxiety over the concerns of the world, and making something beautiful with his creative energy.

For the past month, Berlingeri's amazing sculptures have been on exhibit at the Middletown Public Library, 55 New Monmouth Road. Right now, there is a piece hanging called "Sparks," made up of one large sculpture surrounded by four smaller ones, all in the colors of autumn.

They were built with cut up newspaper strips rolled into sticks and artfully glued together to "express intellectual sparks," he said, adding that the color comes from advertisements in the newspaper.

"The Planet" According to the artist, so often when people see his large paper sculptures they want to know where he got the idea. He doesn't really know how to answer them because the answer is not this or that, it is everything that he has experienced in his life, every thought, every beautiful artwork that his keen eye has observed, and the love of nature that stems from growing up in a beautiful place.

Berlingeri was born on the Isle of Capri, Italy, and worked for many years in Rome as a costume and set designer as well as a restorer of antique sculptures and wall paintings, many in the cathedrals of Rome. But one assignment took him to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.

After visiting the metropolitan area, he became fascinated with the contemporary art world in New York and decided in 1997 to emigrate. He moved to Cranbury, N.J., because he had friends there and began teaching studio art and art history in high schools in Manhattan's East Village and Chelsea sections.

Rose Window Fenestra Classica" Berlingeri said he loved teaching, but the vagaries of funding and devaluation of creative endeavors sometimes made it hard for him to do the kind of work he valued.

"I was asked to build an art program for an all-girls school in Chelsea. It gave me an opportunity to express myself. I focused on the many career opportunities for students in the arts. Students need to see the connection between jobs and opportunity through art," he said.

Unfortunately, he lost his job in 2007 when sponsorship for the program was cut.

In the meantime, he had moved to Middletown and was collecting The New York Times issues that came every day of the week because he wanted to recycle them. They were piling up along with the tension and anxiety that came from reading about all of the problems in the world, especially environmental problems. His discomfort and the need to find meaningful work compelled him to find something to do with the newspapers that were stacked up in his garage.

"I decided to turn the reality of the message and the physicality of the newspapers into another reality," he explained.

"Primary Colors" Berlingeri's pieces are meant to last, at least until the newsprint disintegrates. They are surprising strong because he rolls the sticks with Elmer's Glue and mounts them on canvas.

His piece titled "2005" is the closest he comes to a literal translation of the news. He has used the front page of every issue that year to create 12 fan-like sections with 28, 30 and 31 rolled pieces each. Each rolled piece shows the date of the page.

"It's a continuous wave of news, reminiscent of the rolled parchment pages of the early news gatherers," he said.

He added, "My art is praise — praise for the high quality of journalism in newspapers like The New York Times. It also satisfies my need to be kind to the environment and to build up a kind of new reality from old news."

Berlingeri has created a large body of work in the short span of two years.

"I treat it like a

full-time job. I have a schedule and all of the newspapers are organized," he said.

"Vincent" In his basement, where he works, there are boxes labeled by color, and on a table is a work in progress, a round sculpture that was inspired by a large green ad in the Times.

"It's very hard to find green in the newspaper. When I saw it, I ran out and bought up every edition of the paper that I could find," he said.

One of his combination sculptures is made up of five round shapes. They are called "Rose Windows," because they were inspired by the rose windows that he has seen in medieval cathedrals.

"The function of the rose windows is to give access to the divine that comes through the windows from outside. They are also a symbol of the beauty of the divine," he said.

"Mine are the reverse of the rose windows. There is a black space in the center, a negative space. The darkness is outside so that we cannot see the divine."

He believes that the modern world is less and less defined by moral and ecological considerations and more and more by shortterm utility and greed.

"Newspapers are the medium and the subject of my works. Newspapers are an intensely malleable and generous medium that allow me to investigate the dualism of its physical and meaningful essence," he said.

Although he does change the shape of the pages, he doesn't change the integrity of the paper. He doesn't add anything except glue.

"I use art to preserve the environment and emphasize the beauty of the newspaper pages. The paper's authenticity is totally respected," he said. "It is not affected by paint, special treatments, or chemical preservatives. What I have borrowed from nature will eventually return to it."

Berlingeri will be exhibiting again in May at the Monmouth Museum in Lincroft as part of the Emerging Artists series.