The 60-year career of Italian sculptor/artist and all-around pioneer of midcentury European modernism, Fausto Melotti, is being presented with new fervour at Hauser & Wirth’s uptown gallery space in New York. While renowned for his influence and friendship with Lucio Fontana (a fellow student at the Accademia di Brera in Milan) in Europe, Melotti is less recognised in the United States, hence the premise of Hauser & Wirth’s exhibition.
Staged over three floors of its intimate gallery space and curated by Douglas Fogle, formerly the chief curator at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, ‘Fausto Melotti’ invites visitors to experience the thoughtful, delicate sculptures of the Italian master up close. Opening with a series of abstract plaster works from the 1930s that simultaneously showcase Melotti’s interest in classical music and mathematics with its motifs, and leading towards ceramic sculptures that demonstrate his later return to figuration circa the 1960s, the breadth of Melotti’s creations is apparent.
Shapes that mimic and articulate the human form in a variety of scales, such as The Seven Sages (1960) and various devil-like figures (1945) coincide with Melotti’s personal coming to terms with the reality and repercussions of the Second World War, which he lived through. In fact, the artist’s foray into ceramics was a result of his studio being bombed at the time, and he gravitated towards working in clay simply because the material was easier to come by.
The themes of humanity, harmony, geometry and order, along with highlighting the range of emotions that make up the human experience, are recurring aspects in Melotti’s works. Whether it’s the poetic simplicity of The Rain (1966) – a gold sculpture that ingeniously captures the movement of falling rain – or the graphic theatricality of his renowned ‘Teatrini’ ('Little Theatres') and of works such as The Shadow of the Soul (1984), Melotti was a master of invoking fragmented realities, with a gift for capturing the imagination of viewers that’s still so powerful today.
Staged in collaboration with Fondazione Fausto Melotti and curated by Douglas Fogle, the show includes key pieces from across the artist’s career. Pictured: The Journey of the Moon, 1973
Whether delicate metal sculptures, or his ceramic ‘Teatrini’ (’Little Theatres’), the themes of humanity, harmony, geometry and order are recurring aspects in Melotti’s works. Pictured left: The Snow, 1973. Right: The Hands, 1949
Although initially inspired by abstraction, Melotti made a return to figuration around the 1960s. Shapes that mimic and articulate the human form appear in a variety of scales, mirroring his coming to terms with the reality and repercussions with living through the Second World War. Pictured left: Devil, 1945. Right: Devil, 1945 (right)
Early plaster works from the 1930s simultaneously showcase Melotti’s interest in classical music and mathematics with their motifs. Pictured left: Sculpture No. 11, 1934. Right: Sculpture No. 24, 1935
Armed with a deft sense of theatricality, Melotti was a master of invoking fragmented realities, with a gift for capturing the imagination of viewers that’s still so powerful today. Pictured: The Shadow of the Soul, 1984, one of his last works
INFORMATION
’Fausto Melotti’ is on view until 18 June. For more information, visit Hauser & Wirth’s website
Photography courtesy of Fondazione Fausto Melotti and Hauser & Wirth
ADDRESS
Hauser & Wirth
32 East 69th Street
New York, NY 10021
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