Bonalumi Sculptures at Mazzoleni Art

When Luigi Mazzoleni decided to open a gallery in London, he wanted to follow in the steps of his parents, whose Turin gallery has been an important reference for collectors of post-war Italian art ever since its inception in 1986. So he opened Mazzoleni Art in the heart of Mayfair, dedicated to showcasing some of the great masters of post-war Italian art, with a focus on Arte Povera. Always working in a close collaboration with the artist, Mazzoleni is now delighted to present an exhibition of one of the most influential figures of Italian abstract art, Agostino Bonalumi (1935-2013).

Showcasing work from the 1960s to the 2010s, the exhibition offers a creative mix of fibreglass, plastic and coloured ceramic sculptures. The diversity of the work allows the viewer to get a full idea of Bonalumi’s long career without feeling overwhelmed. The sculptures are so well-suited that there is a feeling of vitality and coherency, as if they are a part of a singular time period as opposed to spanning the artist’s whole career. Of course, this is also thanks to the brilliant curation by Francesca Pola.

There is such a contemporary feeling to Bonalumi’s sculptures that it’s hard to believe that some of them were created as far back as the 1960s. The natural flair of the shapes, the smoothness of the surfaces and the crispness of the material showcases the masterful hand of a sculptor who was not limited by the concept of space.

Escaping the traditional limitations of the canvas, Bonalumi’s idea to blur the lines between two- and three-dimensional is executed to perfection. Giallo (1969), Blue (1990) and Red (2010) are all great examples of brightly coloured canvases with hidden objects within them that look as if they are trying to escape their borders. The result is a three-dimensional work of art that exhibits movement with no boundaries. Bonalumi’s large-scale fibreglass works include Black (1969) and Rapporti (1978), portraying the artist’s signature use of creative curves. Looking at them from different angles creates different illusions of the objects and plays as much with shadow as it does with the viewer’s own imagination.

Bonalumi Sculptures is a great exhibition offering an insight into the career of one of the greatest abstract artists – a must-see on the contemporary art scene. 

Lyubomira Kirilova
Photos: Laura Ruiz

Bonalumi Sculptures is at Mazzoleni Art London until 4^th April 2015, for further information visit here.