Alberto Burri: Form And Matter
The Estorick Collection of Modern Art, London
13 January - 7 April, 2012
Admission charge
Alberto Burri did not intend to be an artist. Born in 1915, in Città di Castello, in Italy’s central Umbria region, Burri went on to study medicine and eventually graduated in 1940. He joined the Italian army medical corps and was sent to Africa. He was captured by the allies in 1943 and was sent to a prisoner of war camp in Texas. As a child, Burri had two great passions; art – for which he had no great skill – and football. It was at the camp that he turned back to art. After the end of the Second World War, he returned to Italy where he gave up medicine and took painting as his metier.
Burri has remained relatively unknown until recently, especially in the UK. His work was highlighted in an exhibition titled Burri Fontana, Manzoni at Tate modern in 2005. Initially he produced figurative paintings that were often dark and sombre in their subject matter. However, this was short lived and Burri’s interest would shift from the figurative to the abstract, which would mark him out as a pioneer. He was interested in exploring how three dimensional art could be realised on what is essentially a two dimensional plane- the blank canvas. These explorations would result in the building up of paint layers, and the incorporation of raw materials like sacks and tar. All these interventions on and under the canvas brought about a three-dimensional quality to the work; the canvas became as much a part of the work of art as the image or paint. The resulting layers of various textures brought about a tactile quality to the works.
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| Alberto Burri, (1915-1995) White Cretto, 1975 Acrovinyl on cellotex 42 x 85 cm Galleria della Arti, Citta di Castello, © Fondazione Pallazzo Albizzini Collezione Burri, Citta di Castello 2012 |
Burri’s ‘sculptural’ approach to the creation of artworks reached an extreme point between 1950 and 1952 when he embarked upon his brief gobbo (‘hunchback’) series, stretching his canvases into a range of distorted shapes by means of the incorporation of wooden inserts that made it appear as if living forms, trapped within the work’s frame, were struggling to free themselves. Another aspect of Burri’s work that compelled audiences was his use of colour, in particular, the primary colours. His use of such colours emphasized and heightened the tangible quality of his works, adding both depth and texture to them.
In addition to the large number of signature pieces from the key period 1950 to 1980, the exhibition will also include several fascinating examples of works created in a range of media and techniques perhaps less commonly associated with the artist, including a series of rare and elegant prints. Once again the Estorick presents a truly interesting show – something that is a true inspiration.
www.estorickcollection.comNehrain Khalifa, 2011