Enrico Castellani

Galleria Mazzoli, Modena
Ivi acquistato dalla famiglia dell'attuale proprietario

Renata Wirz e Federico Sardella, Enrico Castellani, Catalogo Ragionato, Milano 2012, vol. II, p. 455, n. 496, illustrato

This work appears to be in generally good overall condition. There is a tiny paint loss by the one of the nails towards the center of the third row from the top. On the reverse there are few rubber tops missing over few of the nails inherent to the artist's media. No traces of retouching appear to be visible under UV light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

"La pittura stessa non è allora sempre e soltanto pittura o non lo è affatto, è dipingere mediante variazioni di intensità, del ritmo, della luminosità, fra ininterrotti rilievi e depressioni, 'dipingere senza dipingere niente'".
(Vittoria Coen, in Castellani, catalogo della mostra, Trento, Galleria Civica d'Arte Contemporanea, 1999, p.11)

The painting itself, then, is not only and always painting; or it is not painting at all. It achieves its effect by varying the intensity of the rythm and the luminosity between the uninterruped rises and dips in the surface, 'painting without painting anything'.

Considerato il fare artistico del suo tempo come nient’altro che l’assidua ricerca del margine dello spazio, nella volontà di rappresentare la presenza, pregna, del vuoto, Superficie Bianca ha in sé l’aspetto rigoroso di un sapiente lavoro “artigianale” e la solennità concettuale di un capolavoro artistico.
Nella sua profonda monocromia bianca, ridotta al grado zero della pittura, la tela si presenta agli occhi dello spettatore come un’elegante e dinamica variazione dell’iconica produzione di tele estroflesse dell’artista. Variando costantemente di intensità, le estroflessioni si accentuano e si smorzano fluidamente, donando alla composizione un aspetto simile alla superficie del mare mossa dal vento. Nonostante questo dinamismo, dato esclusivamente dalle ombre proiettate sulla tela vestita di acrilico, e nonostante l’assenza di un rapporto centro-periferia, l’opera è perfettamente bilanciata, lavoro da contemplare nella sua muta totalità.
Superficie bianca è l’utopia della ricerca di un margine. Utopia dalla quale Castellani compie un miracolo: limitata dalla inevitabile finitezza della tela, l’artista riesce ad immortalare  una porzione di infinito, quell’infinito che, come affermava Aristotele nella Fisica, non possiede principio, ché sarebbe il suo limite.

Considering the act of making art as nothing else than the constant search for the margin space, aspiring to represent the hefty presence of emptiness, Superficie Bianca has in it the rigorous aspect of a wise handmade work and the conceptual solemnity  of a masterpiece.
In its deep white monochrome, reduced to zero, the canvas exhibits itself as an elegant and dynamic variation of the iconic production of shaped canvases made by the artist.  Constantly changing in terms of intensity, the canvas looks like the surface of the sea when it is moved by the breeze. Among the dynamism, given exclusively by the shadows casted on the canvas covered with the acrylic, and among the absence of a relation between the centre and the periphery, the artwork is perfectly balanced, masterpiece to be contemplated it its speechless totality.
Superficie Bianca is the utopia of the search for the margin. In this utopia, Castellani makes a miracle: limited by the inevitable finiteness of the canvas, the artist is able to capture a portion of infinity, the infinite that, has Aristotele used to say in his Fisica, has no beginning, because this would be his limit.