2012
Haunch of Venison, New York
Softcover
54 pages
270 × 210 mm
Enrico Castellani established the fundamental aspects of his practice in 1959 when he stretched a monochrome canvas over a pattern of hazelnuts (later replaced by nails), creating peaks and depressions that “sensitized” the surface of his canvas to light and the effects of chiaroscuro. Over the next six decades, he would continue to develop this lexicon—the inlaid pattern, the tensile surface, and the modulation of light—by experimenting with an array of materials, textures, and colors. Another dimension of Castellani’s oeuvre emerged through what he has called “objectual works”; partly readymade installations and sculptural objects, such as Muro del tempo (1968) and Asse di equilibrio (1973). Despite their material differences, these engage the same conceptual concerns as the Superficie paintings, initiating patterns of arithmetic progression that hint at a sense of infinity. In the final decade of his life, Castellani moved further into an engagement with sculpture, producing cast aluminum reliefs that made concrete the invisible volume behind his celebrated “surfaces.”
[Lévy Gorvy]
Published to accompany the exhibition Castellani e Castellani at Haunch of Venison, New York. Includes an essay by Marcia E. Vetroq.
