(Vimercate/Monza 1935–2013)
Blu, 1964, signed, dated A. Bonalumi 64 on the reverse, vinyl tempera on shaped canvas, 110 x 80 cm, framed, (AR)

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The present work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of Agostino Bonalumi Work, curated by Fabrizio Bonalumi and Marco Meneguzzo

Photo certificate:
Archivio Bonalumi, Milan, archive no. 64-016

Provenance:
Studio Rossi Arte Contemporanea, Verona (stamp on the reverse)
Italian Private Collection
Galleria Artesilva, Seregno
European Private Collection

Within the context of Bonalumi’s vast output, the present work distinguishes itself on the grounds of its unusual colour, based on blue and green shades. A characteristic element in the artist’s oeuvre is the use of a round shape, which in this case is crossed by cylindrical elements that interrupt its spherical continuity. The composition is defined not only by the combination of geometrical forms, but also by the interplay of light and shadows they create, bestowing a dynamic element to the monochromatic surface.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Agostino Bonalumi was a leading figure amongst the proponents of an idea of art as haptic experience between painting and sculpture, in line with contemporary American research trends known as “shaped canvas”. The surface of these canvases is modelled by means of padding and supporting structures, producing raised areas in monochrome fields (of usually white, blue, red, black and grey colour) that are capable of determining abstract perceptive structures. After studying industrial and mechanical design, Bonalumi began his career in Enrico Baj’s studio, participating in Milan’s cultural scene along with Piero Manzoni, Enrico Castellani and Lucio Fontana, and enjoying the support of critics such as Gillo Dorfles. With all of them, he contributed to “Azimuth” magazine, and became one of the avant-garde artists who shaped the informal and abstract art scene in Italy.