Piero
Manzoni
Piero
Manzoni
Manzoni
Italian, 1933 — 1963
Despite his rapid passage in the artistic sphere - most of his production was between 1956 and 1963 , the multiple tracks that Piero Manzoni cleared have deeply influenced creation since the 1960s.
His uncategorizable work combines the characteristic approaches of conceptual art, Pop Art or performance. It invokes the memory of Dada or announces the Arte Povera. From Living Sculptures to Magic Bases, inviting the spectator to climb a promontory to embody art, including Eggs and the famous Artist Poop, cans containing their fecal matter sold during gold, Manzoni's complex work humorously explores the mystical power of artistic gesture as well as its limits.
The series of Achromes, which the Italian artist developed throughout his career, is part of this multifaceted work. Manzoni began this work in 1957 after seeing Yves Klein’s monochromes. Unlike the latter who plays on the hypnotic power of color, Manzoni seeks to remove from the canvas the painting itself. In fact, Achromes are produced by soaking a pleated canvas in kaolin which gives the work its final shape. The use of kaolin, a material used to make porcelain, blurs the distinction between painting and sculpture. The artist only begins the process of creating the work, which then takes place independently, free of reference.
"The painting is our area of freedom that we travel in search of our first images", Piero Manzoni, Prolégomènes à une activité artistique, March 1957.
Extract from the exhibition catalog "Who's afraid of artists? ", Dinard, 2009, p. 26-27.
His uncategorizable work combines the characteristic approaches of conceptual art, Pop Art or performance. It invokes the memory of Dada or announces the Arte Povera. From Living Sculptures to Magic Bases, inviting the spectator to climb a promontory to embody art, including Eggs and the famous Artist Poop, cans containing their fecal matter sold during gold, Manzoni's complex work humorously explores the mystical power of artistic gesture as well as its limits.
The series of Achromes, which the Italian artist developed throughout his career, is part of this multifaceted work. Manzoni began this work in 1957 after seeing Yves Klein’s monochromes. Unlike the latter who plays on the hypnotic power of color, Manzoni seeks to remove from the canvas the painting itself. In fact, Achromes are produced by soaking a pleated canvas in kaolin which gives the work its final shape. The use of kaolin, a material used to make porcelain, blurs the distinction between painting and sculpture. The artist only begins the process of creating the work, which then takes place independently, free of reference.
"The painting is our area of freedom that we travel in search of our first images", Piero Manzoni, Prolégomènes à une activité artistique, March 1957.
Extract from the exhibition catalog "Who's afraid of artists? ", Dinard, 2009, p. 26-27.
