Agostino Bonalumi – Sculptures, Mazzoleni London, 27 Albemarle Street, London w1, until 4thApril 2015
Agostino Bonalumi,
Giallo, 1996,
Vinyl tempera and shaped canvas, 199,9 x 199,9 cm,
Courtesy Archivio Bonalumi and Mazzoleni London
A leading exponent of Post-War Italian Art Agostino Bonalumi (1935 – 2013) was a self-taught artist whose striking sculptures and innovative canvases influenced the direction of Abstract Art. Like his friends Enrico Castellani and Piero Manzoni he created paintings that stride the boundaries between two and three dimensional forms. He was particularly well-known for his Picture-Objects where he used structures at the back of the canvas to shape and stretch them.
Agostino Bonalumi,
Bronzo, 1969-2007,
cast bronze, 38.5 x 42 x 45cm,
Courtesy Archivio Bonalumi and Mazzoleni London
The works featured in this highly enjoyable show date from the 1960s through to the 2010s and reveal the wide range of materials he used in creating these sensuous, colourful works that also manage to be sensual too. While the upstairs gallery shows larger pieces the downstairs gallery is to my mind perfection with the visually arresting mixture of smaller works.
Agostino Bonalumi,
Grigio, 1996,
acrylic on shaped canvas, 60 x 58 x 46 cm,
Courtesy Archivio Bonalumi and Mazzoleni London
Installation view, Bonalumi – Sculptures, Mazzoleni London, 6 February – 4 April 2015,
Courtesy Mazzoleni London
The exhibition, which is curated by Francesca Pola, working with the Archivio Bonalumi, is very special and it raises, in my mind, the question why has there not been a large-scale retrospective of his work in the UK?
Tim Forrest's E & A 