Gianfranco Pardi was the father of geometry in Italy in the 20th century. Like Leonardo da Vinci, who first put applied geometry to art, Pardi was born in Milan, and his work bears the traces of da Vinci’s approach, interested in the meeting of painting, sculpture, architecture, mathematics and science.
Until now, Pardi has been somewhat of a well-kept Italian secret. The Associazione Culturale Gianfranco Pardi in Milan – founded to conserve the artist’s archive and define his contributions to Italian art – has established Pardi’s importance in his homeland, but now Cortesi Gallery in London is showing Pardi’s work in the first major monographic survey of his work outside Italy.
‘Sistema’, 1976
Focusing on works produced from 1968 to 1988, the earliest is his seminal Giardino Pensile (Roof Garden) from 1968, with its alien-green glazed aluminium, is a reflection on a dual concept of space as biomorphic and geometric, real and imagined, manmade and natural.
The work — on view in London — also coincided with the beginnings of Pardi’s ongoing collaboration with Giorgio Marconi at Studio Marconi (now operating as Fondazione Marconi) — who worked with avant-garde artists defining the artistic movements of their day, like Man Ray, Sonia Delaunay and Lucio Fontana.
From left, ‘Finestra’, 1977; ‘Casa’, 1981; and ‘Giardino Pensile’, 1969
Throughout the 1970s, Pardi continued to be inspired by architecture. In his series Architettura, he introduced structural steel bars and buffed metal surfaces to his canvases — radical in his day — creating works that combined painting, drawing and sculpture in one work, another radical idea at the time.
Architecture continued to be a source of wide-eyed fascination for the Italian artist. From these poetic ruminations on canvas in the 1970s, inspired by windows and ceilings, among other interior structures, Pardi moved outwards, and began to imagine whole structures — the home (Casa, 1981), the museum, (Museo, 1980) and even, a cinema (Cinema 02/1, 1987).
From left, ‘Sistema’, 1976; ‘Architettura’, 1973; and ‘Architettura’, 1970
This survey at Cortesi places Pardi’s work in the wider context of European art history — somewhere between abstraction, constructivism and neoplaticism. They’re also, as it happens, very pleasing to look at.
Left, Architettura, 1973. Right, Architettura, 1973
Left, Cinema 02/1, 1987. Right, Diagonale, 1982
Left, Cinema 02/1, 1987. Right, Architettura, 1973
INFORMATION
‘Gianfranco Pardi. Works 1968 – 1988’ is on view until 11 March. For more information visit the Cortesi Gallery website
ADDRESS
Cortesi Gallery
41–43 Maddox Street
London W1S 2PD
-
Piet Oudolf is the world’s meadow-garden master: tour his most soul-soothing outdoor spacesPiet Oudolf is one of the most impactful contemporary masters of landscape and garden design; explore our ultimate guide to his work
-
Sophie Lou Jacobsen’s glass tableware is fit for a hotel-style breakfast at homeThe French-American designer unveils her ‘Continental Collection’, a playful and elegant take on classic breakfast tableware
-
Hanker after a 1970s supercar? The Encor Series 1 elevates the Lotus Esprit to a new levelThis limited-edition remastering of the dramatic wedge-shaped Lotus Esprit stops at nothing to improve and enhance the original without losing sight of its analogue excellence
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt’s wet, windy and wintry and, this week, the Wallpaper* team craved moments of escape. We found it in memories of the Mediterranean, flavours of Mexico, and immersions in the worlds of music and art
-
Each mundane object tells a story at Pace’s tribute to the everydayIn a group exhibition, ‘Monument to the Unimportant’, artists give the seemingly insignificant – from discarded clothes to weeds in cracks – a longer look
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekThis week, the Wallpaper* team had its finger on the pulse of architecture, interiors and fashion – while also scooping the latest on the Radiohead reunion and London’s buzziest pizza
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt’s been a week of escapism: daydreams of Ghana sparked by lively local projects, glimpses of Tokyo on nostalgic film rolls, and a charming foray into the heart of Christmas as the festive season kicks off in earnest
-
Wes Anderson at the Design Museum celebrates an obsessive attention to detail‘Wes Anderson: The Archives’ pays tribute to the American film director’s career – expect props and puppets aplenty in this comprehensive London retrospective
-
Meet Eva Helene Pade, the emerging artist redefining figurative paintingPade’s dreamlike figures in a crowd are currently on show at Thaddaeus Ropac London; she tells us about her need ‘to capture movements especially’
-
David Shrigley is quite literally asking for money for old rope (£1 million, to be precise)The Turner Prize-nominated artist has filled a London gallery with ten tonnes of discarded rope, priced at £1 million, slyly questioning the arbitrariness of artistic value
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekThe rain is falling, the nights are closing in, and it’s still a bit too early to get excited for Christmas, but this week, the Wallpaper* team brought warmth to the gloom with cosy interiors, good books, and a Hebridean dram
