8th December 2023 – 10th December 2023
Booth Number: D23
ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2023
Miami Beach Convention Center
For Art Basel Miami Beach 2023, Mazzoleni will present a selection of works by post-war Italian masters including, Carla Accardi, Alighiero Boetti, Agostino Bonalumi and Salvo, in conversation with key exponents of kinetic and optical art, Jesus Raphael Soto and Victor Vasarely, among others. This presentation will highlight the subtle, ongoing, and dynamic connection between the artists of this period and their exploration and development of space, matter, gesture and substance in their work.
150 x 150 x 150 cm. Courtesy of Mazzoleni, London – Torino
Pioneer of the Kinetic art movement, Jesús Rafael Soto’s (1923 – 2005) work in the 1960s is characterised by its innovative use of industrial and synthetic materials, such as nylon, steel, Perspex and industrial paint. This innovative use of materials can be seen in Soto’s Cube de Rome (1969), which engages viewers in a transcendent experience where the artwork seems to defy gravity, inviting exploration of the intricate relationship between the object and observer, with both becoming indisputably interconnected.
Victor Vasarely (1906 – 1997) also creates a deeply interconnected relationship between his work and the viewer, through its optical effects. Primarily known for his central role in the international Op-art movement, Vasarely used Malevich’s Supermatist black square as a foundation from which to construct vibrant optical effects. He considered his work to have a direct, visually distinguishable correlation to energy, space, matter, movement and time.
This interaction with the viewer continues through the work of Agostino Bonalumi (1935 – 2013), a forerunner of moving beyond the informal, whose work’s reject the flat nature of the canvas and two-dimensionality. Marking the 10th anniversary of Bonalumi’s death, Mazzoleni currently presents Bonalumi’s “extroflexions” or “shaped canvases” in a retrospective exhibition in Turin, entitled Agostino Bonalumi: a Theatre of Forces, until 3 February 2024.
Bonalumi’s “shaped canvases” invade the traditional space of the viewer, seeking a new dimension, transforming the canvas simultaneously into both sculpture and architecture, as seen in Rosso (1974). Carla Accardi’s (1924 – 2014) work offers a unique approach to viewer interaction, utilising a monochromatic artistic language of signs that explores both negative and positive spaces. In works like Scacchiera verdeoro (1974), Accardi subverts traditional visual writing hierarchies, weaving sinuous lines into a narrative chessboard, that alternates between positive and negative spaces.
Courtesy Mazzoleni, London – Torino
Alighiero Boetti’s (1940 – 1994) exploration of language takes form in his embroidered works, conveying puzzles with short phrases, inverted sayings, and wordplay, conceived in the 1970s. On this occasion, later embroidered works from the 1990s will be presented, as well as Aerei (1978), an early biro on paper work depicting airplanes against a blue background.
Whilst Boetti and Salvo’s (1947 – 2015) careers were closely intwined throughout the 1960s, by the 1970s Salvo had pivoted away from conceptual work, creating hyper-saturated imagined landscapes and cityscapes. La Strada (2005) immerses viewers in a dreamlike landscape with its vivid palette, allowing them to be transported into a world of the imaginary. Mazzoleni welcomes collectors and visitors alike to explore the enduring legacy of these remarkable Post-War Italian masters, uncovering the ever-evolving landscapes of space, matter and gesture.
©2023 Mazzoleni
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