Enrico Castellani

Studio Luca Palazzoni, Milan

Galleria Annunciata, Milan

Studio d'Arte Pescali, Milan

Studio Cavalieri, Bologna

Paolo Pagani, Bologna

Tornabuoni Arte Contemporanea, Milan

Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 2004

Rivoli, Castello di Rivoli, Museo d'arte contemporanea, Ouverture, 1984 

Exhibition Catalogue, Florence, Tornabuoni Arte, Maestri Moderni e Contemporanei. Antologia scelta 2004, 2004, p. 61, illustrated in colour 

Renata Wirz and Federico Sardella, Enrico Castellani. Catalogo ragionato. Opere 1955-2005, Vol. II, Milan 2012, p. 405, no. 323, illustrated

Colour: The colour in the catalogue illustration is fairly accurate. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There is some wear to all four corners tips, with two small tears to the bottom two corners. Close inspection reveals some minute tension cracks to some of the protrusions. There are a few hairline cracks in isolated places, most notably towards the lower right corner and the centre of the left edge, and a thin circular crack to the lower centre of the left edge. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultra-violet 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."

Bedecked in waves of undulating indents and pointed protrusions, Superficie Bianca is a mesmerising experiment in spatial definition. The rippling pattern of miniature peaks and bowls, arranged in a manipulated parallelogram of exact symmetry, charges every inch of the canvas with surging amplified energy, so that different passages appear to protrude and recede as one’s angle of consideration changes. This is a pristine work that perfectly encapsulates those qualities that Enrico Castellani sought to achieve in art.

Composing his flawless white canvases with a sequential pattern of nails, using a nail gun against a structured canvas with lattices of extra stretchers on the back, Castellani aimed to achieve a progression of negative and positive poles in his Superfici series; a rhythmic relief suffused with the subtle interplay of light and dark. In appropriating this almost sculptural language, he achieved the illusionary modelling effect usually associated with the traditional Italian painting method of chiaroscuro. The scholar Germano Celant has written of this: “Light illuminates the reliefs, creates shadows and reflections, flattens and highlights the surfaces, and thus confers existence on the painting. Therefore Castellani could not fail to gradually approach its splendour through the use of the absolute colour white, which radiates, slides across, and unifies the surface and at the same time functions as a register of total freedom” (Germano Celant quoted in: Exhibition Catalogue, Milan, Fondazione Prada, Enrico Castellani, 2001, p. 17).

In its sweeping purity of form and colour, Superficie Bianca reflects the primary concerns and ideals of the ZERO group, of which Castellani formed an integral part during its relatively brief existence during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The collection of artists who exhibited under the ZERO banner during this period – including Lucio Fontana, Otto Piene, and Yves Klein amongst others – sought to transcend the limitations of conventional painting, seeking to discover an entirely new creative language unencumbered by extraneous concerns and traditional ideas of illustration. They aspired to “freeing art from every form of narrative or subjective pictorial expression in order to achieve a purification” (Bruno Cora, ‘Enrico Castellani: Art with the Semantic Value of Language’, in: Renata Wirz and Federico Sardella, Enrico Castellani, Catalogo Ragionata, Tomo Primo, Milan, 2012, p. 13)

Within this group, Castellani found his closest artistic affinity with Piero Manzoni, whose seminal Achromes achieved textural difference by being soaked in Kaolin and left to sag and dry into intricate protruding lines. In December 1959, he and Castellani co-founded the Azimut Gallery and Azimuth journal through which they were able to extend their exploration of the ZERO groups stated goals. The present work is a fantastic example of the ways in which they sought to “free themselves from traditional artistic practice and arrive at new representations made up of points of light” (Stephan von Wiese, ‘Il Grado ZERO nell’arte’ in: Exhibition Catalogue, Siena, Palazzo della Papesse, ZERO 1958-1968, 2004, p. 15). Their work proved hugely influential amongst the post-war avant-garde, perhaps most poignantly influencing the seminal works of Donald Judd who later canonised Castellani as ‘the Father of Minimalism’.

However, where Fontana and other members of the ZERO group were focussed on conscious destruction through slashing and burning, and Manzoni allowed his Kaolin soaked canvases to dry of their own accord, leaving the final aesthetic effect more up to chance, Castellani was highly assiduous and diligent in his artistic endeavours. This work is a stunning example of the ways that his oscillating effects of light and shade change and modulate with regard to their immediate environment, engaging in a unique dialogue within their surrounding space, and affecting endless spatial experiences. The rhythmic punctuating peaks of Superficie Bianca consummately evoke this almost vertiginous visual phenomenon; they invite the viewer to consider a boundless spatial dimension and become an active partaker in Castellani’s ardent pursuit of the absolute.