Italian art of the 20th century

LUCIO FONTANA Born at Rosatio, Santa Fe (Argentine), 1899, of an Italian father; lives in Milan. He has taken part in many exhibitions both in Italy and abroad. A t the Venice Biennial, 1954, his work was given space for a one-man exhibition. Besides being a sculptor, of a strong personality for his imagination and plastic boldness, he is considered an original ceramist. H e has taken part in the vanguard trends and is the founder of the "Space movement" 1 4 2 CONCE P T O F SPACE (1955) 1 4 3 CONCEPT OF SPACE (1955) NINO FRANCHINA Born in Palermo 1912; lives in Rome, where he teaches. He has taken part in various exhibitions, amongst which are the Venice Biennial and the Rome Quadriennial, where he won prizes. His work is shown in Italian and foreign galleries. His sculpture decidedly tends towards the abstract 1 4 4 RHYTHM OF SURFACES (1952) 1 4 5 L I KE AN A I RP LANE (1952) EMILIO GRECO Born at Catania (Sicily) 1913; lives in Naples, where he teaches at the Academy of Beaux Arts. He has taken part in the most important exhibitions in Italy and abroad. His work is shown in Italian and foreign art galleries. H e was awarded various prizes, among which were the "Parliament Prize" at the 6th Roma n Quadriennial and the "Saint Vincent" Prize of 1948. Although faithful to the fundamental traditions of Italian sculpture, he has kept step with the most recent developments in composition and expression 1 4 6 FAIRY MARINO MARINI Born at Pistoia 1901; lives in Milan, where he teaches at the Academy of Beaux Arts. H e has attended many Italian and foreign exhibitions where he won many prizes, amongst which were the Gr a nd Prix for Sculpture at the I I Rome Quadriennale, and first prize for sculpture at the Venice Biennale, as well as the 1954 "Feltrinelli" prize. I n Italy and abroad he is considered one of the chief exponents of modern sculpture, bringing a breath of renewal to this art. Marino Marini has always been in the vanguard of new expressions and his work has been characterised by a most effective and harmonious concentration on essentials 1 4 7 PORTRAIT Collection Fosco Morandi, Florence MARCELLO MASCHERINI Born at Udine 1906; lives in Trieste. He has taken part in many Italian and foreign exhibitions and won many prizes, among which were the first prize of the 1952 Venice Biennale, the "Donatello" first prize 148 149 and the "Paris Prize," 1951. His work is shown in many Italian and foreign museums. H e is one of the most expressive modern sculptors and is outstanding for a characteristic and stylized figurativism COCK (1935) YOUNG HORSE (1954) UMBERTO MASTROIANNI Born at Fontana Liri (Frosinone) 1910; lives in Turin. H e has to his credit the participation in many exhibitions, amongst which are the Venice Biennials, the Rome Quadriennials and those at Sao Paulo (Brazil), Rotterdam and Amsterdam. H e was awarded the prize for sculpture, 1950, at the Venice Biennale, the prize of the Rome Sixth Quadriennale, and the "Sainte-Vincent Gr a nd Prix," besides the first prize for the "Monument to the Partisan" at Turin. Mastroianni's sculpture is characterised by a vigorously expressed cubist realism 150 NUDE LUCIANO MINGUZZI Born in Bologna 1911; lives in Milan, where he teaches at the Academy of Beaux Arts. He took part in many Italian and foreign exhibitions, winning various prizes, among which were the prize for 25 years of the Venice Biennial ( 1 9 5 0 ) . His work is exhibited in many Italian and foreign art galleries. He won the competition for one of the bronze doors of Milan Cathedral. His plastic art is linked with Italian tradition and with the experiences of these last thirty years. It shows charac- teristics of vigour and constructive force 1 5 1 PERSIAN CAT (1949) MIRKO (Mirko Basaldella) Born at Udine 1910; after having studied in Venice, Milan and Monza, made his name in one-man exhibitions and collective exhibitions in Italy and abroad. He won second prize at the international competition for a Monument to the "Unknown Political Prisoner" ( London ) , and First International Prize at the Sao Paulo Biennale, 1955. The style of this artist is based on a complex experience and his art reveals his sensitive- ness to the most recent plastic trends 1 5 2 TOTEM No. 1 (1954) 1 5 3 TOT EM No. 2 (1954) 1 5 4 SMALL VOICES ALBERTO VIANI Born at Quistello (Mantova) 1906; lives in Venice, where he teaches. He took part in the Venice Biennials and the Exhibitions of Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he won various prizes. His work is shown in Italian and foreign art galleries. He belonged to the "New Front of the Arts" group in 1948; subsequently he turned towards abstract tendencies 1 5 5 NUDE WOMAN (1944) [ 2 8 ] [29]