Skip to content

Melotti and Morandi

October 27 - December 23, 2016

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) Cartoccio c.1960 Glazed...

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986)
Cartoccio
c.1960
Glazed polychrome ceramic
18 1/2 in diameter x 7 3/8 in high; 47 x 18.7 cm

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) CONTRAPPUNTO II (COUNTE...

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986)
CONTRAPPUNTO II (COUNTERPOINT II)
1969(1984)
Brass
19 3/4 x 19 3/4 x 4 in; 50.2 x 50.2 x 10.2 cm
Edition 4/4

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) Coppetta c. 1965 Glazed...

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986)
Coppetta
c. 1965
Glazed polychrome ceramic
2 3/8 x 5 1/2 in; 6 x 14 cm

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) Coppetta c. 1965 Glazed...

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986)
Coppetta
c. 1965
Glazed polychrome ceramic
2 1/2 x 5 1/2 in; 6.4 x 14 cm

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) Coppetta c. 1965 Glazed...

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986)
Coppetta
c. 1965
Glazed polychrome ceramic
2 3/8 x 5 1/2 in; 6 x 14 cm

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) Coppetta c. 1965 Glazed...

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986)
Coppetta
c. 1965
Glazed polychrome ceramic
2 1/2 x 5 5/8 in; 6.5 x 14.3 cm

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) Piatto Cartoccio c. 195...

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986)
Piatto Cartoccio
c. 1955
Glazed polychrome ceramic
3 1/2 x 10 1/4 x 8 1/2 in; 9 x 26 x 21.5 cm

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) Senza titolo 1961 Water...

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986)
Senza titolo
1961
Watercolor, pastel and oil pastel
12 x 19 in; x 30.5 x 48.3 cm
Framed: 19 1/2 x 25 3/8 in; 49.53 x 64.52 cm

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) Senza titolo 1961 Water...

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986)
Senza titolo
1961
Watercolor, pastel and oil pastel
10 x 12 1/2 in; 25.4 x 31.75 cm
Framed: 17 5/8 x 20 3/8 in; 44.7 x 51.82 cm

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) Senza titolo 1961 Water...

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986)
Senza titolo
1961
Watercolor, pastel and oil pastel
12 1/4 x 19 in; 31.1 x 48.3 cm
Framed: 20 1/4 x 26 1/2 in; 51.44 x 67.31 cm
Signed, lower left: Melotti
CA4344

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) Senza titolo 1961 Water...

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986)
Senza titolo
1961
Watercolor, pastel and oil pastel
16 x 12 1/8 in; 40.6 x 30.8 cm
Framed: 24 3/4  x 19 3/4 in; 65.41 x 50.17 cm

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) Senza titolo 1974 Water...

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986)
Senza titolo
1974
Watercolor, pastel and oil pastel
13 3/4 x 9 5/8 in; 34.8 x 24.4 cm
Framed: 22 1/2 x 18 3/4  in; 57.15 x 47.63 cm
Signed, on verso: Melotti
CA4341

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) Senza titolo 1974 Water...

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986)
Senza titolo
1974
Watercolor, pastel and oil pastel
13 3/4 x 10 in; 34.9 x 25.4 cm
Framed: 21 1/4  x 17 1/8 in; 53.98  x 43.98 cm
Signed in pencil, on verso: Melotti
CA4340

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) Senza titolo c. 1973 Br...

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986)
Senza titolo
c. 1973
Brass relief
25 9/16 x 23 5/8 in;  65 x 60 cm
Unique

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) Senza titolo 1975 Plast...

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986)
Senza titolo
1975
Plaster, mixed media
10 1/4 x 10 1/4 in; 26 x 26 cm
Framed: 13 1/2 x 12 3/4 in; 34.3 x 32.3

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) Tema e Variazioni XI 19...

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986)
Tema e Variazioni XI
1981 (1984)
Brass
25 5/8 x 58 1/4 x 12 1/4 in; 65 x 148 x 31 cm

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) La vacca lunatica 1961...

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986)
La vacca lunatica
1961
Brass
15 1/16 x 8 x 3 in; 38.26 x 2.32 x 7.62 cm

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) N# 1 Vaso Kappa c. 1960...

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986)
N# 1 Vaso Kappa
c. 1960
Glazed polychrome ceramic
27 1/4 x 6 3/4 in; 69.2 x 17.1 cm

Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964) Fiori 1950 Oil on canv...

Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964)
Fiori
1950
Oil on canvas
8 7/8 x 7 3/4 in; 22.55 x 19.69 cm
Framed: 16 1/4 x 15 in; 41.28 x 38.1 cm
Signed, lower center: Morandi

Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964) Natura morta 1962 Penc...

Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964)
Natura morta
1962
Pencil on paper
7 1/2 x 10 3/5 in; 19 x 27 cm
Framed: 17 1/8 x 20 3/8 in; 43.5 x 51.8 cm
Signed, lower right: Morandi 1962

Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964) Natura Morta (Still Li...

Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964)
Natura Morta (Still Life)
1932
Pencil on paper
12 1/2 x 9 7/16 in; 31.7 x 24 cm
Framed: 20 7/8 x 17 15/16  in; 53 x 45.7 cm
Signed and dated, lower right: Morandi 1932

Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964) Il Ponte sul Savena a...

Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964)
Il Ponte sul Savena a Bologna
1912
Etching on wove paper
Plate: 6 1/2 x 8 3/4 in; 16.5 x 22.2 cm
Edition 2/50
Numbered, lower left: 2/50
Signed and dated, lower right: Morandi 1912
CA4372

Press Release

Barbara Mathes Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of the work of Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964) and Fausto Melotti (1901-1986). Although Morandi is most known as a representational painter of deceptively modest still-lives and Melotti as a sculptor of lyrical abstraction, their work shares a series of surprising formal and conceptual similarities. Interested in geometry and the interplay of solids and voids, both artists were preoccupied by repetitions with variations, serial forms, and a near architectural concern with space. Pairing Morandi’s paintings and drawings with Melotti’s watercolors, ceramics, and sculptures, the present exhibition elucidates the affinities between these modern Italian masters.

 

In works such as Natura Morta (1932), Morandi explores the nature of space, time, perception and memory in meditative compositions that allude to sculpture, architecture, and the human figure.  Featuring similar objects—pots, jars, bowls, vases—Morandi’s drawings and paintings often depict the same forms numerous times in different arrangements. In the restrained formal language for which he is known, Natura Morta’s complex composition and use of negative space exemplifies the artist’s quietly emotional variations on subtle themes.

 

Repetitions with variation also preoccupied the slightly younger Fausto Melotti. Melotti was fascinated by musical structures and the compositions of metal sculptures such as Contrappunto II (1969/1984) were frequently inspired by arrangements such as harmony and counterpoint. While the delicate linearity of Melotti’s sculpture contrasts to the sculptural solidity of Morandi’s paintings, both artists continually explore the interaction of solids and voids and the perception of space.

 

Giorgio Morandi was born in Bologna in 1890, and studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti from 1907 to 1913. Considered to be one of the most important Italian artists of the 20th century and a touchstone for the development of Minimalist painting in the 1960s, Morandi’s work is included in most major public collections of 20th century art and has been the subject of numerous retrospectives including at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2008. 

Fausto Melotti was born in Rovereto, Italy in 1901.  After studying engineering, he dedicated himself to becoming an artist and in 1928 entered the Academia di Belle Arte di Brera in Milan. A major force in Postwar European art, his work has been widely exhibited, is in the collection of major international museums, and was included in five Venice Biennales (1948, 1952, 1966, 1972, 1986). 

 

Contact information:

Barbara Mathes Gallery is located at 22 East 80th Street.  The gallery is open Monday through Friday, 10am to 6pm and Saturday 10am to 5pm.  For more information or images, please contact the gallery at 212-570-4190 or art@barbaramathesgallery.com.

Download PDF