FEATURES ARCHIVE

FAUSTO MELOTTI
The abstract artist in love with the figure
The artistic rigour of Fausto Melotti’s work is founded on his quest for harmony,  that also comes from his passion for and knowledge of music.  His “Teatrini” (puppet theatre) series, compositions in terracotta, full of light and air, do not tell stories but evoke images.  The sculpture up for auction is a typical example of this series from the Rovereto-born master.  At a time when Italy and Europe were exploding with any number of rebellious movements, in the silence of his Milan study, Melotti was creating anti-sculptures that are anti-rhetorical and anti-monumental, imbued with grace, taste and metaphysical influences.

PIERO DORAZIO & GETULIO ALVIANI
Two ways of exploring the same theme: light
Dorazio’s work Senza Re (Without king), created in 1957 and immediately shown in a major exhibition of the time, is offered to the market for the first time, since the artist bought it back directly from its current owner.  This painting is a fine example, typical of the pre-reticular period, with a dense texture constructed out of an interplay of thickening and thinning. In this canvas the light seems to vibrate by means of the dense overlapping colour effects.

Getulio Alviani is one of Italy’s rare exponents of Op Art and his works are arranged according to the rules of visual perception. In this work on aluminium, Alviani employs scientific rigour to put together simple geometric elements that reveal his profound awareness of colour, light and visual perception.

ALIGHIERO BOETTI & GIULIO PAOLINI
Two exponents of Arte Povera
Alighiero Boetti soon distanced himself from the Arte Povera movement, but the basic concept of the movement  - the total openness of a work of art to the use of the most diverse and unusual materials  - imbues all his work. 15 buste dall’Afghanistan a Salmon Alì (15 envelopes from Afghanistan to Salmon Alì) is a typical example of the series of postage stamps the artist started to produce in 1970.

These stamps, attached to writing paper recall the adventurous nature of a journey, a theme of major importance for the Turin-born artist. Experimenting with all possible combinations, Boetti uses the stamps for their colour, just as other artists use brushes or water colours.

Photography is revisited in the work of Giulio Paolini, returning to those artists who preceded him, full of classic citations.  For Paolini, art must speak about itself, it must not only explore the relationship between artist and viewer, but also the various art forms themselves. The work up for auction is Cahiers d’Art, the name of a famous art history review and the pages that make it up represent the artist’s own art “exercise book”.

Related Sale
Sale 2522
MODERN & CONTEMPORARY ART
25 May 2010
Milan