Bas-Relief Lozanges, 1972, stainless steel, 44 1/8 × 35 3/8 × 2 3/8 in.
©Foto Massimo Listri
Fausto Melotti (Rovereto 1901 – Milan 1986)
Fausto Melotti was a versatile artist who dedicated his career to experimenting with different media, such as sculpture, bas-relief, environmental installation, puppet theater, works on paper and ceramics. Incredibly prolific, Melotti reached success in Italy and abroad during the 1960s, and received numerous prizes for the outstanding quality of his ceramics. Melotti began his career after graduating in engineering from the Polytechnic University of Milan in 1924. He studied sculpture with Pietro Canonica and received a diploma in piano. In 1928 he attended the Brera Academy, where he was a student of Adolfo Wildt with fellow artist Lucio Fontana. By the 1930s, he was completely involved in the artistic scene: in 1935 he joined the Abstraction-Création movement, established in Paris with the aim of promoting the work of non-figurative artists, and in 1937 he created Costante uomo (Man-Constant) in the Sala della Coerenza, an environmental installation for the 6th Milan Triennale. During his career, Melotti received important awards, such as the La Sarraz International Prize in Switzerland in 1937, the Rembrandt Prize from the Goethe Foundation in Basel in 1974 and the posthumous Golden Lion from the Venice Biennale in 1986. His work has been included in significant exhibitions in Italy, including a retrospective at Palazzo Reale in Milan (1979) and a major retrospective at Forte Belvedere in Florence (1981).
In this work, Fausto Melotti explores the interweaving of painting and sculpture by simulating, through the frontal perspective and the bidimensional surface, a canvas from which three dimensional geometric forms emerge, invading the space of the viewer. The title recalls the sculptural tradition of the bas-relief and points to the dynamics embedded in the transformation of geometrical forms, given that lozenges, normally resembling thin rhombuses, are evoked in the two curvilinear shapes on the left. Despite presenting the same outline, these two forms explore different volumes through fullness and emptiness, relief and flatness. Thanks to the reflecting properties of stainless steel, the work interacts with the surrounding environment, creating a complex interplay of lights and shadows. The three undulating lines on the right echo each other in their movement, following a regular pattern. Melotti investigates the realms of abstraction through an inventive use of geometry and a marked dynamism created by the interaction of different shapes and volumes. In his works, non-figurative forms are arranged, as in a musical score, in perfect combination and disposed in a meticulously-researched balance, evoking the lyrical and spiritual nature of abstract art. (Magazzino Italian Art Foundation)