METALLOID DARK PINK SMALL POLE VI, 1966-1968
polyester-coated and painted wood
120 x 8 x 8 cm, private collection, Milano

SILVER SMALL POLE II 1966
polyester-coated and painted wood
145 x 10 x 10 cm

VIOLET-RED SMALL POLE, I, 1966
polyester- coated and painted wood
145 x 10 x 10 cm

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DULL PURPLE (LM) TABLE SCULPTURE, 1966-1967
nitro-acrylic enamel (2K clear mat finish) on wood
75 x 120 x 60 cm (5 pieces, legs section: cm. 10 x 10)

DEEP ULTRAMARINE BLUE PORTAL V, 1966-1967
nitro-acrylic enamel (2K acrylic matt clear) on wood
240 x 100 x 10 cm (section: cm. 10 x 10), private collection

PINK-YELLOW POLE III, 1966-1967
polyester-coated and painted wood, plexiglass stand
290 x 9 x 9, stand cm. 105 x 105 cm

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METALLOID DARK-PURPLE WALL-TRAPEZIUM SCULPTURE, 1967-1968
water base metal colour (2K acrylic matt clear) on wood 
200 x 18 x 39,5 cm (section: cm. 6 x 18), private collection

BROWNISH-SILVER STANDING-TRAPEZIUM OBJECT I, 1967
nitro-acrylic enamel on resin-coated wood
[Restored: Water-base enamel ( 2K acrylic mat clear) ]
110 x 320 x 18 cm (section: cm. 6 x 18), private collection, Milano

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METALLOID (MAT) PINK-OCHRE SLEIGH OBJECT, 1967-1968
2K acrylic ( water base) on wood
270 x 90 x 50 cm (section: cm. 10 x 10)

METALLOID ORANGE-OCHRE READING-DESK OBJECT, 1967-1968
polyester-coated and painted wood
169,5  x 95,2 x 39,5 cm (3 pieces)
private collection, Torino

PURPLE-GRAY WINDOW OBJECT, 1967-1968
polyester-coated and painted wood and resin
200 x 90 x 10 cm

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METALLOID-ORANGE VERTICAL WEDGE-SHAPED OBJECT, 1967-1968
water-base enamel (2K acrylic mat clear) on wood
290 x 10 x 40 cm, private collection

DULL VIOLET INCLINED WINDOW OBJECT, 1967-1968
water-base enamel (2K mat clear) on wood
130 x 60 x 25 cm

METALLOID YELLOW-BROWN BAR ON TRUNCATED PYRAMIDS, 1967-1968
polyester-coated and painted wood
120 x 420 x 30 cm (3 pieces)

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Torino, Studio: Works 1967-68

 

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installation view at Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva, June 2013
image © ANNICK WETTER

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installation view at Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva, June 2013
image © ANNIK WETTER

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installation view at Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva, June 2013
image © wfw

all images courtesy the artist (unless otherwise stated)

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The anticipated retrospective exhibition of GIANNI PIACENTINO has now opened at the Centre d’Art Contemporain in Geneva. Like GIULO PAOLINI or MICHANGELO PISTOLETTO, PIACENTINO participated to the first exhibitions of the Arte Povera movement and has been considered to be ahead of his time in the way he incorporated his interest for minimalism and technology in his work.

He started as an artist in Turin during the 60’s where and when the Arte Povera was rising, by producing large conceptually pieces, whose scale and geometric simplicity had much in common with Minimalism. Those freestanding works, presented directly on the floor and the wall completed with deep and vibrant colours, resemble to familiar objects such as windows, doors, bookcases or desks. Installed together, these artworks present a particularly unified experience of composition and space, emphasizing their relationship to the surrounding architectural environment.

That was the time when, with PAOLINI, we were trying to go beyond painting. I’d disassembled the frames with the idea of reaching towards the essentials, towards monochromy. – GIANNI PIACENTINO in conversation with HANS ULRICH OBRIST

Thanks to a vivid imagination and a remarkable technical skill, he is able to bring together various forms of expression: in 1969 GIANNI PIACENTINO cut a notch in his large-scale minimal sculptures, and began to work on dozens of kick-scooter prototypes and a vast range of curious two- and three-wheeled vehicles, fostering a passion for racing cars and airplanes.

This retrospective – organized by newly director ANDREA BELLINI – spans the artist’s entire career, from 1965 through to the present day, including a complete reconstruction of his first solo show at Galleria Sperone in Turin (1966).

➝ Gianni Piacentino, A Retrospective is running at Centre d’Art Contemporain in Geneva through August 18, 2013. The exhibition will be accompanied by an extensive catalogue published by Presses du Réel and JRP Ringier.

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