52 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
Threshold of Perception
Opening: Wednesday, September 9, 2015, 6 -
8pm
Exhibition dates: September 10 - November 1,
2015
Antonio Scaccabarozzi's body of work is
defined by an experimental investigation into modes of vision. Scaramouche is
pleased to present his first United States exhibition with an emblematic
selection of pieces in collaboration with the Artist's Estate in Milan, Italy.
Up until his unexpected death in a motorcycle accident in 2008, Scaccabarozzi
continuously produced and exhibited his work for over four decades, beginning in
the mid-60's. Characterized by the use of new materials, his paintings and works
on polyethylene sheets reveal an in-depth exploration into visual phenomena,
transforming the pictorial mode into brief epiphanies. The result is a rousing
ambiguity of situations, accentuated by the awareness that what is before us,
our vision, is in continuous evolution.
The recurring presence of the color blue is
another exacting choice. In the Western world blue resonates as the most neutral
of colors. There is no other color that embodies such a graceful reputation in
all of its shades and nuances. Blue resonated with the artist beyond its
superficiality as a color of depth, of transcendence, and of distance. Art
historian Elisabetta Longari notes an affinity between Scaccabarozzi's work and
that of Yves Klein, "Irrespective of the references which can be established
through their common use of the monochrome and an affection for the color blue,
above all the two artists seem to share a calling for the void, a void full and
pregnant like the silence following music, and the impetus toward the
infinite... The void into which Klein leapt in his 1960
action-cum-manifesto, Saut dans le vide (Leap into the Void), is the
space in which to introduce the work of Scaccabarozzi. If it's true that the
role of a poet is to safeguard the blue, the distance, then Scaccabarozzi is a
poet who investigated the mechanisms of vision and affirmed its enchantment. His
art is the opening into an endless indefinite space."
Antonio Scaccabarozzi (1936 -
2008, Lecco-Milan, Italy) studied at the Castello Sforzesco School of Applied
Arts in Milan. His work has been published and exhibited extensively since the
early 70's, and continuing with avid dedication following his tragic death in
2008. An affirmed 'outsider' who shied away from the glamour of the art world,
he was a free spirit, an uncompromising ascetic devoted to his art. While not
anchored to any specific "School" or movement, Scaccabarozzi's work was
consistently shown and considered alongside the most important figures of the
time such as Getulio Alviani, Agostino Bonalumi, Antonio Calderara, Enrico
Castellani, Gianni Colombo, Dadamaino, Piero Dorazio, Giorgio Griffa, François
Morellet, and Jorrit Tornquist. Notable solo exhibitions include Galleria del
Cavallino, Venice; Galerie Katharina Krohn, Basel; Galleria Lorenzelli, Milan;
Lydia Megert, Bern; Galerie Ubu, Karlsruhe; Sleeper, Edinburgh;
Kunsthistorisches Institute, Bonn University; Galerie Hoffmann, Friedberg; Cairn
Gallery, Pittenweem, UK; Galerie Katrin Rabus, Bremen; Foundation Antonio
Calderara, Vacciago di Ameno, Italy; Galleria P420, Bologna; Nuova Galleria
Morone, Milan. Recent group exhibitions include Kunstgalerie, Bonn; Galerie La
Ligne, Zurich; Galerie Petr Zaloudek, Prague. Clement & Schneider, Bonn is
forthcoming this Fall.
Image: Antonio Scaccabarozzi, Canvas
Injections C, cmc 3,5/cmc 0,5 x 7, Blu Ultramarine, 1980, 18.5 x 18.5
in.
Contact the gallery for more
information:
info@scaramoucheart.com |
212.228.2229 | www.scaramoucheart.com
