Pier paolo calzolari biography

A leading figure in the postwar Arte Povera movement, Pier Paolo Calzolari (b.
Pier Paolo Calzolari is an Italian artist (born in Bologna in 1943) who was originally associated with Arte Povera.
Pier Paolo Calzolari is an Italian artist who was originally associated with Arte Povera.

•

Pier Paolo Calzolari (b. 1943) is one of the most significant Italian artists of the post-war period and one of the still-active original members of the Arte Povera movement. His 1969 text ‘La casa ideale’, and its realisation through a series of works is considered one of the seminal statements of the movement. His work, concurrent to that of Conceptual art and Post – Minimalism, has rapidly evolved beyond the confines of a defined movement.

Calzolari distinguished himself from other Arte Povera artists through his refusal of the avant-garde’s rejection of the past. His work seeks an equal and horizontal relationship between past, present and future. While his work shared similarities, it veered in a unique direction, bringing in elements of Renaissance painting and the Romantic movement. Calzolari’s sculptural installations are known for capturing ephemera and use elemental materials including frost, fire, salt, lead, water, copper, neon, moss, roses, feathers, eggs and tobacco leaves.

The work of Pier Paolo Calzolari is included in numerous museum collections and has

•

Pier Paolo Calzolari

Pier Paolo Calzolari was born in Bologna on November 21, 1943, and spent his childhood in Venice. He didn’t attend formal schools but was educated at home with a private tutor. His dream of becoming a violinist accompanied him during this solitary period.

He returned to Bologna at the age of 22 and opened a studio at Palazzo Bentivoglio, initially focusing on painting. His artistic endeavors attracted intellectuals and artists, including foreigners like Allen Ginsberg and William Borroughs. In 1967, he organized his first interactive solo exhibition titled “Il filtro e benvenuto all’angelo,” engaging the audience in a sensory experience.

Later on, he moved to Urbino and became associated with the Arte Povera movement. In 1968, he wrote a significant text titled “La casa ideale.” His work drew the attention of the Galleria Lo Sperone in Turin, and in 1969, he participated in the renowned exhibition “Live in Your Head: When attitudes become form” at the Kunsthalle in Bern, contributing to the international recognition

•

A leading figure in the postwar Arte Povera movement, Pier Paolo Calzolari (b. 1943; Bologna, Italy) is renowned for the material inventiveness and formal originality of his expansive, genre-defying practice. Working with equal fluency in painting, sculpture, installation, and performance, Calzolari’s work embraces a fascination with the alchemical while examining the potential of light, the essence of memory, and the poetic character of the natural world and the urban environment.

Calzolari’s highly charged, contemplative creations revolve around concerns of light, matter, and space. The artist spent much of his youth in Venice, and the city’s particular light—its reflection on the marble and mosaics—had a profound influence on his work. In 1965, he joined four other artists in founding Studio Bentivoglio in Bologna, Italy. Against the backdrop of postwar political and economic instability, the artists of Studio Bentivoglio sought new ways of making art. Working with simple, commonplace materials—as well as performance and happen