Post-War Italian Art Tales 12 April - 6 June 2021

Mazzoleni London is pleased to announce Post War Italian Art Tales, opening to the public on 12 April 2021. Focusing on revolutionary artistic experiences which enhanced the cultural panorama from the second half of the Twentieth Century, the exhibition enlightens the fundamental role that Italian art played as breakthrough in the framework of international abstraction movement until nowadays.

The exhibition highlights over fourteen and sculptures: works by some of the most significant artists from the Post-War period including (1899-1968), Alberto Burri (1915-1995), (1939- 2017), Agostino Bonalumi (1935-2015) and (1933-1963), are joined by some of the most important Italian abstractionists such as Carla Accardi (1924-2014), Piero Dorazio (1927-2005), Getulio Alviani (1939- 2018) and Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) along with Arte Povera exponents: Michelangelo Pistoletto (b. 1933) and Jannis Kounellis (1936-2017). An insight on contemporary is offered by Nunzio (b. 1954) with one of his iconic burned wood sculptures.

The show is set out as a storytelling, where each artist is associated to the use of a particular method, style or told by a curious anecdote. Through chosen critics’ narrative are revealed uncanny and unexpected features of what is behind the oeuvres. Each author’s take on describes a particular aspect of one artist so that the viewer is involved into a dialogue which facilitates a personal interpretation through the eyes of curators, art historians, and critics.

Zevi points out that the meaningful dimension of in Dorazio and Accardi shares light and movement with Alviani’s rhythmical surface, since both elements work as “intrinsic activators” as affirmed by Apollonio. If according to Dorfles, the extroflected monochrome surfaces by Bonalumi (painting-objects) represent an atypical milestone in art history, Burri and Fontana, undisputed masters of the twentieth-century art, share in Cora’s thinking the idea of manipulation of surfaces, bringing monochromes to further dimensions of investigation.

Two more monochrome interpreters are brought to attention in this exhibition: while in Castellani, as clarified by Barilli, the canvas is the space where equal and opposite forces that define modulated rhythm of the surface are visually perceptible by alternating shadow and light, Anceschi highlights how in Manzoni the use of white colour allows to go beyond the edges of the canvas even when the picture is physically delimited.

Celant and Trini relate the Arte Povera main advocates, the former explains how the graphic sign of black letters on white backgrounds moves Kounellis into a deep research creating a strong iconic and visual impact, the latter suggests how Pistoletto, thanks to the replacement of the pictorial support with reflecting surfaces, brings the viewer into a new dimension of time and space beyond pure visibility.

Through her words, Drudi underlines that in Melotti the pictorial and sculptural elements coexist in deep meditation, as a moment of liberation from the weight of twentieth century history. The imaginary narrative purses equilibrium in the harmonic composition of variation and musical counterpoint.

Briganti is the expositor of Nunzio’s artistic approach and the way he emphasises the primordial force of combusted wooden sculpture and his ability of mastering an archaic technique altering and modifying its perception together with the use of the black colour.

This exhibition opens in the aftermath of another severe lock-down in the United Kingdom; Mazzoleni is looking forward for the visitors to experiencing the masterpieces on display at the London gallery accompanied by the narrative of internationally recognised art historians and critics who having been closed to the artists, offer us a new reading key.

MAZZOLENI

Mazzoleni was founded in Turin in 1986 by Giovanni and Anna Pia Mazzoleni, as a natural evolution of their private collection started in the 1950s. The historic Turin space, which occupies three floors of Palazzo Panizza, overlooking the city-centre Piazza Solferino, has since 2014 been flanked by the London gallery in Mayfair. Over the past three decades Mazzoleni has organised solo and group exhibitions of more than 200 prominent Italian and international artists from across the 20th century

with an exhibition programme focused on museum-calibre Italian art from the post- war period and recently the contemporary panorama, working in close collaboration with artists’ estates and foundations. All exhibitions are accompanied by fully illustrated monographs, with authoritative critical texts. Under the leadership of Davide and Luigi Mazzoleni, in recent years Mazzoleni has intensified its international activities, participating in numerous art fairs, including Art Basel (Basel, Miami and Hong Kong), Frieze Masters (London), TEFAF (Maastricht and New York) and FIAC (Paris).

NOTES TO EDITORS Exhibition: Post War Italian Art Tales Dates: 12 April - 6 June 2021 Address: Mazzoleni, 27 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4HZ Gallery Hours: Mon – Fri 10am – 6pm, Sat 11am – 5pm. Admission: Free | Website: www.mazzoleniart.com | Tel: +44 207 495 8805

FOR ALL PRESS ENQUIRIES: Jose Graci M: +44 (0)7437449259 E: [email protected]

External Press Office Pickles PR Maria Cristina Giusti M: (+39) 339.8090604 E: [email protected]

Gair Burton M: +44 (0)7402 784 470 E: [email protected]

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