Yuri (Giampiero Volpe Prignano) was born in Pinerolo, Torino, Italy in 1935. At 12 he entered the Fine Arts School in Lucca (Tuscany) and then the Fine Arts Academy in Florence where he studied sculpture, ceramics and drawing and architectural design.
His very first exhibition of sacred bronzed sculptures took place in Pisa when he was just 11 years old. At 13 one of his paintings was chosen for the Museum of Modern Art of New York.
In 1955 he traveled South America for the first time and worked for the project of the new futuristic capital of Brazil, Brasilia. He specialized in the mural art, using painting, modeling in chalk, cement, bricks and wood.
In 1961 he moved to Argentina and since then he has realized artworks for private collections in Brasil, USA, Perù, Uruguay, Spain etc. Among his most famous works is to be mentioned the largest brick sculpture of Argentina, (2,40x32 m.)
In 1971 he founded his own art school named "Architectural Sculture". The school promotes the combination of sculpture, architecture and drawing tecniques.