Golden Age: 20th century Italian painting takes the spotlight in New York
![White room with various framed art work on the walls](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3r5vnjHsULjsjibETbgf4D-415-80.jpg)
When it comes to 20th century Italian painting, the work of Lucio Fontana instantly springs to mind. But there’s a slew of influential artists, who spun out non-figurative work far earlier, with some even predating Kandinsky, to take note of. To elucidate this band of then-revolutionary painters, noted scholar and dealer Gian Enzo Sperone has curated ‘Painting in Italy 1910s-1950s: Futurism, Abstraction, Concrete Art’, which opened in New York last week. The Sperone Westwater exhibition features more than 100 abstract examples by artists working before, during and after World War II, with some even painting under the country's repressive Fascist regime.
Above all, they turned away from figurative traditions and explored a new visual vocabulary based overwhelmingly on geometric forms, sharp planes and a primary palette. The especially pioneering painters, Sperone points out, includes Giacomo Balla. ‘Take Balla’s Compenetrazione Iridescente (Study for Iridescent Interpretation) which he painted in 1912, as its totally non-figurative, his approach is truly ahead of his time,’ he says.
Sante Monachesi’s 1937 Alluminio a luce mobile, which translates as 'light mobile aluminum', are actually two relief panels. ‘His raised surfaces are truly revolutionary for their time and predate Lucio Fontana,’ says Sperone. Other examples include Alberto Magnelli's trailblazing 1937 'Peinture 336', in which the artist scraped away portions of paints to enhance the texture. 'Magnelli to some degree led the way for Burri,’ Sperone comments.
The revolutionary works are made even more striking by the gallery's Norman Foster-designed building
The exhibition presents how these pioneering artists turned away from figurative traditions and explored a new visual vocabulary based on geometric forms, sharp planes and a primary palette
It also traces the complex, and often fraught, relationship between art and politics in Italy during the pre-war and post-war period
With works by artists, such as Carla Badiali, Giacomo Balla, Sante Monachesi and Lucio Fontana, on display, the vibrant exhibition truly captures the excitement of the times
INFORMATION
‘Painting in Italy 1910s-1950s: Futurism, Abstraction, Concrete Art’ will be open until 23 January
Photography: Tom Powel Imaging
ADDRESS
Sperone Westwater
257 Bowery
New York
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
Phaidon’s new Graphic Classics is a lavish greatest hits of graphic design
Graphic Classics is a compendium of seven centuries of visual culture, from the everyday and ephemeral to visionary works that reshaped our world
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Birley Chocolate hits the sweet ’n’ chic spot in London’s Chelsea
The new Birley Chocolate shop, a sibling to Birley Bakery, is a confection of colour as delicious as its finely crafted goods
By Melina Keays Published
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
Alexander May, founder of LA studio Sized, on the joys of creative polymathy
Creative director Alexander May tells us of the multidisciplinary approach that drives his LA studio Sized and its offspring, a 5,000 sq ft event space and an exhibition series
By Hannah Silver Published
-
50 of America’s top creatives, photographed by Inez & Vinoodh
Photographed exclusively for Wallpaper* by Inez & Vinoodh, we present a portfolio of 50 creatives driving the current discourse on American culture and its dynamic evolution
By Dan Howarth Published
-
Nona Faustine confronts the past in New York
Artist Nona Faustine reframes New York's colonial past in an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum
By Hannah Silver Published
-
How the west won: Ivan McClellan is amplifying the intrepid beauty of Black cowboy culture
In his new book, 'Eight Seconds: Black Cowboy Culture', Ivan McClellan draws us into the world of Black rodeo. Wallpaper* meets the photographer ahead of his Juneteenth Rodeo
By Tracy Kawalik Published
-
Casa Bosques’ queer-themed book curation comes to New York’s East Village
In Pride Month 2024, Casa Bosques’ pop-up bookstore in The Standard hotel, East Village, offers a stylish haven for literary mavens
By Hannah Silver Published
-
‘Very few museums were interested in my work until recently’: Amalia Mesa-Bains on her first-ever retrospective
‘Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory’ is a long-overdue exhibition at El Museo del Barrio in New York celebrating five decades of the trailblazing Chicanx artist
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Frieze New York 2024: what to see in and around the city
Frieze New York 2024 (until Sunday 5 May) sees the city’s ample spring season programming celebrated at The Shed
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Calling NYC grads! Sarabande Foundation invites you to an industry masterclass to pave way into the creative world
‘What Now?’ by Sarabande Foundation is a post-college guide to support graduates in making their next steps, with advice from the likes of Burberry, Thom Browne, and more
By Tianna Williams Published