The State Hermitage Museum is open exhibition “Afro Bazaldella. Color Emotions ”, which represents the first time in the creation of the Russia's largest Italian abstraktsionista

In the Winter Palace (rooms 339-342), the Hermitage is open exhibition «Afro Bazaldella. Color Emotions », which represents the first time in Russia the artist, whose canvases allow the evolution of fine tools and colors in post-war Italian art.

The exhibition, which included 56 paintings created between 1935 and 1975, reflecting milestones creative ways to master, revealing the inherent labor Afro «celebratory glorification of light and life» (as he wrote in 1960 in its monograph on the painting of James J. Sweeney, at that time director of the Solomon Guggenheim Museum in New York).

Biggest Italian abstraktsionist Afro Bazaldella (1912-1976), known as the African (the artist signed his work only a name) was born in the small town of Udine, near Venice. His father and uncle were decorators, two elder brother later became sculptors. After studying in Florence, Venice and Rome, in 1931 in Venice Bazaldella received a degree in art class. His first monographic exhibition was held in Milan, where the author was only 20 years old. Since 1935, the Asian regularly exhibited at Kvadrennale in Rome and the Biennale in Venice.

Early works by Italian masters, created it in 1930 and the first half of 1940's, followed the tradition of figurative painting. In works of the Afro-time obviously his attention to a wide range of areas, from the official Novecento with his monumental and traditional, to the «metaphysical painting» Giorgio de Chirico. Interest in his work, as well as the palpable surrealism in painting Afro «Autumn». Scenic motives and methods of the artists the so-called «Rome School» Bazaldella developed in «Rome Forum». Before the war, he was passionate about art, Giorgio Morandi, whose method of peer and vslushivatsya in everyday life was in tune with the search for Asian ( «Still Life», 1941).

In 1937, in Paris Bazaldella met with cubism, which was his first step towards irrelevant. The influence of Pablo Picasso and Georges Marriage especially affected in a number of paintings of the mid 1940's - in particular, «Still life with coffee grinders». Having a creative crisis in the years 1946-1947, after nearly two years of «silence» Afro tried to synthesize techniques of Cubism with abstract painting action.

In 1950 the artist moved to America and began to exhibit in the gallery Katherine Vivian. In the American period of creativity, especially after getting acquainted with painting Arshila Slides , Asian, though not immediately, away from the figurative. The basis of visual structure of his works beginning 1950 to be a reality. Thus, in «Negre of Louisiana» he is starting from a concrete plastic motive, although much of its processes. In the middle of scenes 1950 outlines become less certain spots - more than vague. For example, in «The boy with the bull», and in studies of «Boy with turkeys» strict geometry and clear the line and replaced kalligrafichnoy unclear freely rastekshimsya spot. Gradually, the image, devoid of overt forms, reaching almost complete dematerialization ( «Underwater Hunting»). In the end, a visual image loses all certainty and visibility. Increasing the intensity of color, from the chaos of bright spots, vibration strokes and lines plexus birth to a new, emotionally rich space.

At the Venice Biennale 1952, the Asian exhibited with «the Group of Eight» with the support of the critic Lionello Venturi. Thus, to restore its relationship with fellow Pitstsinato, Birolli, Santomazo, Turkato, Vedova, with whom he had represented the line of the abstract and «specific» painting.

At the Venice Biennale in 1956 Afro awarded «Best Italian painter». In the next two decades, he actively exhibited and taught in America and Italy. In 1958, along with Pablo Picasso, Hans Arpom, Alexander Kolderom, Joan Miro, he was invited to create murals at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. Two sketch to the monumental «Garden of Hope», executed while the Asian shows how important it is not only color, but the figure, despite its seeming randomness.

In the 1970's in the works of Afro again hint at the fine. The papers, overlapping with the paintings of Picasso and Miro, bright spots have regained a clear path, forming a sort of organic forms. In those same years, the artist, already seriously ill, almost left the painting, referring to the printed schedule and trellis. In 1973 he moved to Zurich Africa, where he died three years later. In 1978, the Gallery of Modern Art in Rome, a large monographic exhibition of his work, recognizing it one of the greatest Italian artists of the post-war period.

The exhibition is open until September 20, 2009.

Source: hermitagemuseum.org