AUSTIN/DESMOND FINE ART ARTURO BONFANTI

Transcription

1 AUSTIN/DESMOND FINE ART ARTURO BONFANTI

2 Front cover: MI.225, 1971

3 ARTURO BONFANTI PAINTINGS, RELIEFS AND SCULPTURE JUNE 27 JULY 2012 In collaboration with Lorenzelli Arte, Milan AUSTIN/DESMOND FINE ART Pied Bull Yard 68/69 Great Russell Street London WC1B 3BN T +44(0)

4 Natura Morta, 1938 Oil on card cm 2

5 INTRODUCTION Arturo Bonfanti ( ) was born in Bergamo in He settled in Milan in 1926, at that time the centre of the Italian avantgarde. He worked for many years as a designer and graphic artist for publishers, painting in his spare time. His early figurative works echo the ethereal still lifes of Giorgio Morandi whom he revered, this influence is particularly apparent in his work Natura Morta, The work of Morandi remained important throughout his life. Bonfanti s first exhibition was at Galleria Permanente in Bergamo in 1927, though few of the works from this period have survived. In the subsequent years Bonfanti showed little of his work and it was not until decades later that he would exhibit regularly. Frequent visits to Paris after the Second World War brought many influential friendships among who included Alberto Magnelli, Hans Arp and Gérard Schneider and in the UK with Victor Pasmore and Ben Nicholson. This international awareness had a notable influence on his style and from 1950 onwards Bonfanti dedicated himself to the concrete manifesto, [the] purpose of concrete art is to represent abstract thoughts in reality, in such a way that the senses perceive them. [Max Bill]. Bonfanti rejected the object and the figure entirely in favour of pure forms, colour and line. However his works stray away from the stark rationality of some concrete artists. There is something poetic and subtle in his use of colour and soft line, each work is unmistakably his, yet each has a strong individual character. The term Poetic Geometry has been used in reference to his work; it seems to fit well. Despite his quiet nature and solitary working habits Bonfanti found acclaim in the late 1950s, exhibiting with Galleria Lorenzelli, Bergamo in 1959; the first of many exhibitions he was to have in the gallery. Bonfanti also exhibited with the famed Galerie Denise René, Paris in 1962 as well as participating in the 1968 Venice Biennale and the 1969 X São Paulo Biennale, the former of which had a room solely dedicated to his work. Other notable group exhibitions include those with Galerie Denise René, Paris in 1961, 1963 and with Annely Juda Fine Art, London in 1972 Towards the end of the 1960s, Bonfanti began to paint on pavatex, a chip board with a texture that brought a new element to his work. By the mid-1960s Bonfanti had begun his series of white wood reliefs and sculpture expanding his oeuvre into the third dimension. A full catalogue raisonné by Luca Massimo Barbero in collaboration with Lorenzelli Arte was published in Milan Emily Austin, London

6 Printemps, 1960 Oil on board cm 4

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8 Composizione A.13., 1961 Oil on board cm 6

9 Composizione A. 8, 1961 Oil on board cm 7

10 Composizione 107. B., 1962 Oil on board cm 8

11 A. S. 277, 1966 Oil on panel cm 9

12 S. 395., 1968 Oil on canvas cm 10

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14 P. 369., 1968 Oil on canvas cm 12

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16 MI.243, 1971 Oil on canvas cm 14

17 AC Murale 171, 1969 Oil and acrylic on pavatex 35 x 38 cm 15

18 Sculptura, 1970 White lacquered wood Edition of 6 Height 30 cm Rilievo 349, 1968 Oil on wood panel cm 16

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20 ARTURO BONFANTI SOLO EXHIBITIONS 1927 Arturo Bonfanti, Bergamo, Galleria Permanente Bonfanti, Bergamo, Galleria Permanente. Milan, Galleria Ranzini, December Bergamo, Galleria Lorenzelli, November Bonfanti, Zürich, Galerie Charles Lienhard, September Bonfanti, Paris, Galerie Denise René, February March. Bonfanti, Milan, Galleria Lorenzelli, June Wesel, Galerie Schloss-Ringenberg. Bonfanti-Nangeroni, Locarno, Flaviana Galleria d Arte Moderna, April. Arturo Bonfanti, Milan, Galleria Lorenzelli, June July. Bonfanti, Genoa, Galleria La Polena, 18 December January Copenhagen, Galeria Hybler. Bonfanti. Pitture disegni sculture Bergamo, Galleria Lorenzelli, June July Bonfanti, Madrid, Sala de Stanta Catalina del Ateneo, November December Madrid, Galeria Seiquer. Milan, Galleria Vismara, 18 April 1 May. Bonfanti. Zeichnungen, Essen, Museum Folkwang, 10 December January Barcelona, Galeria Gres. Bonfanti, Bergamo, Galleria Lorenzelli. Arturo Bonfanti, Turin, Galleria Martano/Due, March April. 34 Biennale Internazionale d Arte, Venice, 22 June 20 October Brussels, Inter Gallery. Padua, Galleria Adelphi. Basel, Galerie Bettie Thommen, April May. Arturo Bonfanti, Milan, Galleria San Fedele, June. X Biennal de São Paulo do Brazil, São Paulo, October. Arturo Bonfanti, Livorno, Galleria d Arte Peccolo, December Arturo Bonfanti, Paris, Galerie Arnaud, 29 January February. Arturo Bonfanti, Rome, Galleria Rizzoli, 30 April 15 May. Florence, Galleria Palazzo Vecchio 24 October 5 November. Bonfanti, Auvernier, Galerie Numaga, 5 December 10 January Cologne, Instituto italiano di Cultura. Bonfanti, Coblenz, Galerie Teufel, 29 February 25 March. Arturo Bonfanti, Milan, Galleria Falchi, April. Bonfanti, Cologne, Galerie Teufel, 2-29 April. Arturo Bonfanti, Ölbilder-Graphik, Frankfurt, Frankfurter Westend Galerie, June July Bergamo, Galleria Lorenzelli. Bologna, Galleria la Nuova Loggia. Padua, Galleria Adlephi. Wesel, Galerie Schloss-Ringenberg. Basel, Galerie Bettie Thommen, March April. Arturo Bonfanti. Bilder-Handzeichnungen, Bremen, Ausstellung Kunsthalle, 26 March 30 April. Arturo Bonfanti, Milan, Galleria Lorenzelli, October. Milan, Galleria Lorenzelli, October Arturo Bonfanti, Rome, Galleria della Trinità, April. Giorgio Morandi Radierungen. Arturo Bonfanti Oelminiaturen Zeichnungen, Frankfurt, Galerie Westend, September October. Arturo Bonfanti. Opere, Intra, Galleria Corsini, September November. Bonfanti (huiles et dessins), Auvernier, Galerie Numaga, 1-30 December. 18

21 1974 Milan, Galleria Il Milione, March. Bergamo, Galleria Lorenzelli, September Arturo Bonfanti, Bologna, Galleria Pellegrino. Arturo Bonfanti, Zürich, Gimpel & Hanover Galerie, 18 April 18 May. Il segno di Bonfanti, 50 disegni dal 1946 al 1975, Milan, Centro Culturale San Fedele, October Arturo Bonfanti, Finale Ligure Borgo, Studio Rotelli, August Padua, Galleria Adelphi. Le Minipitture di Arturo Bonfanti, Milan, Galleria Lorenzelli, 24 March 30 April. Bonfanti, Bergamo, Galleria Lorenzelli, December. Bonfanti, Amsterdam, Galerie Swart, December Basel, Galerie Bettie Thommen Milan, Galleria Lorenzelli, December (Posthumous retrospective) Bergamo, Galleria Lorenzelli, January Locarno, Atelier Lafranca, 13 November January 1983 (Retrospective of graphic works) Frankfurt, Frankfurter Westend Galerie. Arturo Bonfanti. Réstrospective. Stampe , Neuchâtel, Galerie Ditesheim, 2 July August Padua, Galleria Carrain. Arturo Bonfanti, , Sesto San Giovanni, Centro Culturale Rondottanta 15 March 13 April Munich, WaBermann, Galerie E Arturo Bonfanti, Milan, Lorenzelli Arte. Arturo Bonfanti, Lodi, Museo Civico Salone dei Notai, 25 April 17 May Arturo Bonfanti, Piacenza, Rosso Tiziano Arte 5 May 24 July Arturo Bonfanti, Eine Restrospektive Une Réstrospective, Zug, Kunsthaus, 23 March 26 May: Vevey, Musée Jenisch, 8 July 11 August Arturo Bonfanti, Finale Ligure, Valente Artecontemporaneo, April May. Arturo Bonfanti. Ein Restrospektive Une Réstrospective, Cholet, Musée Municipal, 15 May 20 July; Ludwigshafen, Kunstverein, estate; Bergamo, Galleria d Arte Moderna e Contemporaneo Accademia Carrara, 17 December January Arturo Bonfanti, Intime Abstraktionene Intime Astrazioni , Darmstadt, Institut Mathildenhöhe, 1 July 2 September. Arturo Bonfanti, Opere , Milan, Lorenzelli Arte, 27 September 27 October Arturo Bonfanti Antologica Opere dal 1930 al 1978, Locarno, Casa Rusca, Pinacoteca Comunale, 24 May 30 June Arturo Bonfanti, Piacenza, Solaria Arte, 20 March 16 May Bonfanti. Nangeroni, Brescia, LAC Lagorio Arte Contemporanea, 15 March 30 May 2011 Arturo Bonfanti: Colour that pulsates in the silence of space, Milan, Lorenzelli Arte, 1 December March

22 AUSTIN/DESMOND FINE ART Compiled by Emily Austin Printed by Healeys Print Group Photography by Colin Mills, Bruno Bani and Matteo Lorenzelli Many thanks to Matteo Lorenzelli Austin / Desmond Fine Art Pied Bull Yard 68/69 Great Russell Street London WC1B 3BN T +44(0) F +44(0) gallery@austindesmond.com 20

23 Back cover: MI.231, 1971

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