AUSTIN/DESMOND FINE ART ARTURO BONFANTI

AUSTIN/DESMOND FINE ART ARTURO BONFANTI

Front cover: MI.225, 1971

ARTURO BONFANTI PAINTINGS, RELIEFS AND SCULPTURE 1960-1972 8 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)20 7242 4443 www.austindesmond.com

Natura Morta, 1938 Oil on card 22 27 cm 2

INTRODUCTION Arturo Bonfanti (1905-1987) was born in Bergamo in 1905. 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, 1938. 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 2011. Emily Austin, London 2012 3

Printemps, 1960 Oil on board 46 55 cm 4

Composizione A.13., 1961 Oil on board 46 55 cm 6

Composizione A. 8, 1961 Oil on board 46 55 cm 7

Composizione 107. B., 1962 Oil on board 27 35 cm 8

A. S. 277, 1966 Oil on panel 25 30 cm 9

S. 395., 1968 Oil on canvas 81 100 cm 10

P. 369., 1968 Oil on canvas 30 35 cm 12

MI.243, 1971 Oil on canvas 18 15 cm 14

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

Sculptura, 1970 White lacquered wood Edition of 6 Height 30 cm Rilievo 349, 1968 Oil on wood panel 25 30 cm 16

ARTURO BONFANTI SOLO EXHIBITIONS 1927 Arturo Bonfanti, Bergamo, Galleria Permanente. 1943 Bonfanti, Bergamo, Galleria Permanente. Milan, Galleria Ranzini, 16-31 December. 1959 Bergamo, Galleria Lorenzelli, November. 1961 Bonfanti, Zürich, Galerie Charles Lienhard, September. 1962 Bonfanti, Paris, Galerie Denise René, February March. Bonfanti, Milan, Galleria Lorenzelli, June. 1965 Wesel, Galerie Schloss-Ringenberg. Bonfanti-Nangeroni, Locarno, Flaviana Galleria d Arte Moderna, 10 23 April. Arturo Bonfanti, Milan, Galleria Lorenzelli, June July. Bonfanti, Genoa, Galleria La Polena, 18 December 1965 7 January 1966. 1966 Copenhagen, Galeria Hybler. Bonfanti. Pitture disegni sculture. 1959-1966 Bergamo, Galleria Lorenzelli, June July Bonfanti, Madrid, Sala de Stanta Catalina del Ateneo, November December. 1967 Madrid, Galeria Seiquer. Milan, Galleria Vismara, 18 April 1 May. Bonfanti. Zeichnungen, Essen, Museum Folkwang, 10 December 1967 7 January 1968. 1968 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. 1969 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. 1970 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 1971. 1971 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. 1972 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. 1973 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

1974 Milan, Galleria Il Milione, March. Bergamo, Galleria Lorenzelli, September. 1975 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. 1976 Arturo Bonfanti, Finale Ligure Borgo, Studio Rotelli, August. 1977 Padua, Galleria Adelphi. Le Minipitture di Arturo Bonfanti, Milan, Galleria Lorenzelli, 24 March 30 April. Bonfanti, Bergamo, Galleria Lorenzelli, December. Bonfanti, Amsterdam, Galerie Swart, 13 31 December. 1978 Basel, Galerie Bettie Thommen. 1979 Milan, Galleria Lorenzelli, December (Posthumous retrospective). 1980 Bergamo, Galleria Lorenzelli, January. 1982 Locarno, Atelier Lafranca, 13 November 1982 31 January 1983 (Retrospective of graphic works). 1983 Frankfurt, Frankfurter Westend Galerie. Arturo Bonfanti. Réstrospective. Stampe 1968-1977, Neuchâtel, Galerie Ditesheim, 2 July August. 1985 Padua, Galleria Carrain. Arturo Bonfanti, 1905-1978, Sesto San Giovanni, Centro Culturale Rondottanta 15 March 13 April. 1986 Munich, WaBermann, Galerie E. 1987 Arturo Bonfanti, Milan, Lorenzelli Arte. Arturo Bonfanti, Lodi, Museo Civico Salone dei Notai, 25 April 17 May. 1990 Arturo Bonfanti, Piacenza, Rosso Tiziano Arte 5 May 24 July. 1991 Arturo Bonfanti, Eine Restrospektive Une Réstrospective, Zug, Kunsthaus, 23 March 26 May: Vevey, Musée Jenisch, 8 July 11 August. 1992 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 1992 31 January 1993. 2001 Arturo Bonfanti, Intime Abstraktionene Intime Astrazioni 1926 1975, Darmstadt, Institut Mathildenhöhe, 1 July 2 September. Arturo Bonfanti, Opere 1929 1978, Milan, Lorenzelli Arte, 27 September 27 October. 2002 Arturo Bonfanti Antologica Opere dal 1930 al 1978, Locarno, Casa Rusca, Pinacoteca Comunale, 24 May 30 June. 2004 Arturo Bonfanti, Piacenza, Solaria Arte, 20 March 16 May. 2008 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 2011 3 March 2012 19

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)20 7242 4443 F +44(0)20 7404 4480 gallery@austindesmond.com www.austindesmond.com 20

Back cover: MI.231, 1971

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