安立可·卡斯蒂拉尼

Private Collection, Italy (acquired from the artist)

Sotheby’s, Milan, 25 May 1999, Lot 187 (consigned by the above) 

Acquired from the above by the present owner

Exh. Cat., Milan, Fondazione Prada, Enrico Castellani 1958-1970, April - June 2001, p. 185, illustrated in colour

Renata Wirz and Federico Sardella, Eds., Enrico Castellani, Catalogo Ragionato, Vol. II, Milan 2012, p. 350, no. 140, illustrated

Colour: The colour in the catalogue illustration is fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is deeper and richer in the original and the catalogue illustration fails to convey the metallic quality of the paint. Condition: Please refer to the department for a professional condition report.
"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."

A neat rectangular pattern of minute protrusions bedecks the shimmering silvery centre of Superficie Argento. With its ordered arrangement of negative and positive poles and iridescent metallic surface the work is a mesmerising paradigm of simplicity and elegance. Executed in 1964, and the second of only fifty works from the entirety of Castellani’s extensive oeuvre painted in silver, this beguiling work is a rare and early example of the artist’s most iconic series – the Superficie – which garnered him a reputation as a trailblazer of the radical Minimalist movement of post-war Europe.

Congruent to the zeitgeist of the early 1960s, Superficie Argento is somewhat cosmic in mood. Space travel monopolised the global political discourse of the time and, along with other members of the Pittura Oggetto group such as Lucio Fontana and Paolo Scheggi, Castellani sought to emulate humanity’s exploration of a further dimension by exploring the dimensionality of the canvas in parallel. Superficie Argento’s metallic surface and rigorous exactitude invokes the notion of technological advancement, whilst the pattern of sequential undulations establishes a repetitive rhythm that alludes to a sense of time; its perception as a sequential continuity and intricate linear succession resonates with the artist’s quasi-mystical pursuit of the infinite. Castellani’s rippling pattern of miniature peaks was achieved through a methodical technique. Using a nail gun he hammered nails into the canvas, via an enhanced stretcher, in alternating directions. The hollows and pointed protuberances create a rhythmic relief suffused with a 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.

In its purity of form, Superficie Argento reflects the primary concerns 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 representation, ZERO artists employed light and motion as a means to radicalise artistic expression. Pure colour and light was seen as the essence of cosmic power and became synonymous with the spiritual liberation of the individual. Castellani and his contemporary Piero Manzoni, founders of the legendary Galleria Azimuth and Azimuth journal, were at the very forefront of this radical artistic redefinition. With a practice centred on the monochrome canvas, the artists were closely aligned in their means of expression and medium. Through a subtle moulding of the canvas they highlighted the surface as the essence of the artwork and asserted its individual materiality and objectivity. Moreover, Castellani embraced the conceptual possibility of a rational progression. As the oscillating effects of his intricate protrusions change with each alternation in light and viewpoint, his Superficie are instilled with a life of their own.

A lyrical coalition of the primary principles of Castellani’s idiosyncratic Superficie, the present work affords a revolutionary departure from the conventional concepts of formal painting and pictorial space. It is a poetic embodiment of the meditative powers of art, whose spiritual enterprise finds a subtly differing ontological response in every viewer.