This catalogue is an extension of the book
Giorgio Griffa – Works 1965–2015. Devoted to the graphic practice of the artist,
Giorgio Griffa: Works on Paper points up the singularity and importance of drawing in Griffa's creative process while introducing a rare selection of drawings and watercolours.
“From 1967 through to his most recent works, Giorgio Griffa's painting studies have been based upon three fundamental areas of enquiry: rhythm, sequence and sign. Griffa uses a similar protocol when creating his works on paper, which have very rarely been exhibited and have remained virtually unknown to the public. One need only look through the critical literature devoted to his work, or at the long list of solo and group exhibitions he has been involved in, to see the extent to which drawing is taken into consideration only very occasionally and marginally, even by his closest commentators. However, it seems clear from the quantity and especially the quality of these works that drawing and watercolour are not just some secondary activity for this artist, or in any way subordinate to painting. As Griffa himself points out in a recent interview with
Hans Ulrich Obrist, drawing is not a ‘plan for a painting,' even though in many cases it does provide ideas for later works. Rather, it is an autonomous aspect of his work and a kind of parallel activity to painting.”
Andrea Bellini.
Published on the occasion of the cycle of exhibitions dedicated to the work of Giorgio Griffa at Centre d'Art Contemporain, Geneva;
Museu de Arte Contemporanea de Serralves, Porto; Bergen Kunsthall; and Fondazione Giuliani, Rome in 2015 and 2016.
In 1968, Giorgio Griffa (born 1936 in Turin) abandoned figurative painting in favor of a format of abstract painting that still characterizes his work to this day. Painting with acrylic on raw un-stretched canvas, burlap and linen, Griffa's works are nailed directly to the wall along their top edge. When not exhibited, the works are folded and stacked, resulting creases that create an underlying grid for his compositions. In keeping with his idea that painting is “constant and never finished”, many of his works display a deliberate end-point that has been described as “stopping a thought mid-sentence.” Despite early associations with movements such as
Arte Povera and
Minimalism, Giorgio Griffa's work was not exhibited in the United States for 40 years after his first solo exhibition in New York at Ileana Sonnabend's gallery. In 2012, Giorgio Griffa had a solo exhibition, Fragments 1968 - 2012 at Casey Kaplan in New York, leading him to be named one of the “10 thrilling rediscoveries from 2012.”
published in April 2016
bilingual edition (English / Italian)
17 x 24 cm (softcover)
104 pages (color & b/w ill.)
ISBN : 978-88-6749-209-1
EAN : 9788867492091
sold out
