Agostino Bonalumi

Biography

Agostino Bonalumi was born on July 10, 1935 in Vimercate, Milan. He studied technical and mechanical drawing. Self-taught painter, he began to exhibit at a very young age. In 1958 the Bonalumi, Castellani and Manzoni group was born with an exhibition at the Galleria Pater in Milan, which was followed by other exhibitions in Rome, Milan and Lausanne. In 1961 at the Kasper Gallery in Lausanne he was one of the founders of the Group New European School. Arturo Schwarz bought his works and in 1965 presented a solo exhibition of Bonalumi in his gallery in Milan, with presentation in the catalog of Gillo Dorfles. In 1966 he began a long period of collaboration with the Galleria del Naviglio in Milan, which represented him exclusively, publishing in 1973, for the Edizioni del Naviglio, an extensive monograph edited by Gillo Dorfles. In 1966 he was invited to the Venice Biennale with a group of works, and in 1970 with a personal room. This was followed by a period of study and work in the countries of Mediterranean Africa and in the United States where he presented himself with a solo show at the Bonino gallery in New York. In 1967 he was invited to the São Paulo Biennial and in 1968 to the Paris Youth Biennale. In 1980, curated by the Lombardy Region, a large exhibition was set up at Palazzo Te in Mantua, illustrating the entire arch of his work. In 2002 the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca in Rome celebrated with a solo exhibition the conferral of the 2001 President of the Republic Lifetime Achievement Award to Agostino Bonalumi. In 2003 the Institut Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt presented "Agostino Bonalumi. Malerei in der dritten dimension". He has created works of painting-environment such as, in 1967, Blu abitabile for the exhibition "Lo spazio dell'immagine", in Foligno; in 1968 Grande Nero, for a solo exhibition at the Museum am Ostwall in Dortmund; in 1979, as part of the exhibition "Pittura Ambiente" at Palazzo Reale in Milan, the work From yellow to white and from white to yellow, where the environment considered human activity, is analyzed as a primary activity, that is psychological, as well as in Ambiente Bianco. Retained space and invaded space, created in 2002 for the Guggenheim Foundation in Venice. In 1970 he worked on scenography and created scenes and costumes for the ballet "Partita" for the Roman Theatre of Verona, music by Goffredo Petrassi, choreography by Susanna Egri; and in 1972 for the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma the scenes and costumes of "Rot", music by Domenico Guaccero, choreography by Amedeo Amodio. Despite a disease with which he has been living for some time now, Bonalumi, continues and works assiduously developing his research up to the results of recent years. He also completed the creation of a cycle of bronze sculptures on projects dating back to the late 60s. Brussels, Moscow, New York and Singapore are some of the world capitals that host his solo shows in the last period of activity. In the summer of 2013 he collaborated with enthusiasm in the realization of an important exhibition in London of which, unfortunately, he will not see the opening. Agostino Bonalumi died in Monza on 18 September 2013. Just a week earlier he was at work in the place where he felt best in the world: his studio.

Agostino Bonalumi - Informale (Informal)

The Informal was born after the Second World War involving both European and American artists. It can be considered the point of convergence of previous artistic experiences such as Cubism. Expressionism and Surrealism. The name itself shows that informal art is a formless art and therefore stands out from both figurative art and abstract art. In fact, figurative art is based on the representation of what is seen, while abstract art is essentially composed of geometric figures. Informal art to develop a work also uses unusual materials, just think of the jute bags and plastics of Burri or the matches of Aubertin. Informal art is also characterized by the use of forms that have a clear three-dimensionality, typically the works of Bonalumi and Castellani,which allow to play both on their distribution on the canvas floor and on the alternation of lights and shadows depending on the incident light. As mentioned, the Informale was a worldwide movement of which the German naturalized French Hans Hartung, the Swiss Schneider, the Zero Group were part; Pollock and De Kooning in the United States, group GUTAI in Japan with, among others, Shozo Shimamoto and Kazuo Shiraga.

Tags: Informal - Aubertin - Bonalumi - Castellani