Corpo D’Aria no. 01 Body of Air no. 01

Details

PIERO MANZONI (1933-1963)
Corpo D’Aria no. 01
Body of Air no. 01
wooden box, containing a rubber baloon, mouthpiece and base
box: 1.7/8 x 16¾ x 4.7/8in. (4.8 x 42.7 x 12.4cm.)
Executed in 1959-1960, this work is number one from an edition of forty-five

Provenance

Private Collection, Milan.
Anon. sale, Christie’s London, 26 June 1997, lot 168.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.

Literature

G. Celant, ‘C’è solo da essere’ in Notizie. Supplemento dedicato a Piero Manzoni, Turin 1967 (another from the edition illustrated).
T. Del Renzio & U. Agliani Lucas (ed.), Piero Manzoni, Milan 1967 (another from the edition illustrated, p. 56).
G. Celant, Piero Manzoni, Milan 1975, no. FG (another from the edition illustrated, p. 203).
F. Battino & L. Palazzoli, Piero Manzoni: Catalogue Raisonné, Milan 1991, no. 1050 (another from the edition illustrated, p. 465).
G. Verzotti, ‘Lifelines’ in Art Forum International, New York, March 1991 (another from the edition illustrated, p. 117).
G. Silk, ‘Myths and meanings in Manzoni’s Merda d’artista’, in Art Journal, New York 1993, no. 8 (another from the?edition illustrated, p. 72).
H. Dickel (ed.), Die Sammlung Paul Maenz. Band 1. Objeckte – Bilder – Installationen, Ostifildern-Ruit 1998, no. 5 (another from the?edition illustrated, p. 72).
B. Spahn, Piero Manzoni (1933-1963). Seine Herausforderung der Grenze von Kunst und Leben, Munich 1999, no. 12.
G. Celant, Piero Manzoni Catalogo Generale, vol. I, Milan 2004, no. 683 (another from the edition illustrated in colour, pp. 180-181); vol. II, no. 683 (another from the edition illustrated, p. 498).
Piero Manzoni: A Retrospective, exh. cat., New York, Gagosian Gallery, 2009, no. 163 (another from the edition illustrated in colour, pp. 176-177).

Exhibited

Milan, Civico Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea, Cinquant'anni & Dada. Dada in Italia. 1916-1966, 1966, no. 145 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated, p. 220).
Eindhoven, Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Piero Manzoni, 1969-1970, no. 36-37 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated, p. 18). This exhibition later travelled to Mönchengladbach, Städtisches Museum Mönchengladbach; Hannover, Kunstverein Hannover and Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum.
Milan, Galleria Blu, Piero Manzoni, 1970, no. 22 (another from the edition exhibited).
Turin, Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna, Conceptual Art Arte Povera Land Art, 1970 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated).
Rome, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Piero Manzoni, 1971, no. 59 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated, p. 59).
Ferrara, Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna, Palazzo dei Diamanti, Piero Manzoni , 1971, no. 39 (another from the edition exhibited).
New York, Sonnabend Gallery, Piero Manzoni, 1972, no. 12 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated, p. 49). This exhibition later travelled to Houston, Contemporary Arts Museum.
Milan, Studio Luca Palazzoli, Piero Manzoni, 1973 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated).
Modena, Galleria d'Arte Fonte d'Abisso, Manzoni, 1978 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated).
Milan, Civico Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea, Azimuth & Azimut. 1959: Castellani, Manzoni e…, 1985, no. 55 (another from the edition exhibited).
Brussels, Galerie des Beaux-Artes, Piero Manzoni. Soncino 1933-1963.
Milan, 1987, no. 10 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated).
Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Colleción Sonnabend, 1987-1989 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated, p. 146). This exhibition later travelled to Bordeaux, Capc Musée d’art contemporain; Berlin, Hamburger Bahnhof and Rome, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna.
London, Karsten Schubert Ltd., Piero Manzoni, 1989 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated, p. 9).
Columbus, Wexner Center for the Visual Arts, Art in Europe and America: The 1950s and 1960s, 1990, no. 30 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated, p. 296).
Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Palacio Cristal, La otra escultura: treinta años de escultura italiana, 1990 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated, p. 149). This exhibition later travelled to Barcelona, Centro de Cultura contemporanea de Barcelona, Palau de la Virrania.
Sydney, Art Gallery of New South Wales, The Readymade Boomerang. Certain Relations in 20th Century Art. Art is easy, 1990, no. 291 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated).
Cologne, Galerie Karsten Greve, Piero Manzoni, 1991 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated, p. 49). This exhibition later travelled to Dusseldorf, Galerie Karsten Greve.
Rivara (Turin), Castello di Rivara, Il gioco del pensiero, 1992 (another from the edition exhibited).
Barcelona, Centre Cultural, Europa de postguerra 1945-1965. Arte después del diluvio, 1995, no. 54 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated, p. 165). This exhibition later travelled to Vienna, Küstlerhaus Vienna.
Tokyo, Museum of Contemporary Art, Revolution: Art of the Sixties. From Warhol to Beuys, 1995, no. 107 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated, p. 307).
Esslingen, Galerie der Stadt Esslingen, Villa Merkel, Zero Italien. Azimuth/Azimuth, 1959-60 in Mailand Und heute. Zero Italia. Azimuth/Azimuth 1959-60 a Milano. E oggi. Castellani, Dadamaino, Fontana, Manzoni und italienische Künstler im Umkreis/e artisti italiani nell’ambito, 1995-1996 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated, p. 129).
Siena, La Foce, Piero Manzoni. 21 opere dalla raccolta Karsten Greve, 1996 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated).
Rome, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Cittá Natura, 1997 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated, p. 252).
Milan, Palazzo Reale, Piero Manzoni. Milano et mitologia, 1997, no. 41 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated, p. 72).
Los Angeles, The Museum of Contemporary Art at the Geffen Contemporary, Out of Actions. Between performance and the object, 1949-1979, 1998 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated, p. 72).
London, Serpentine Gallery, Piero Manzoni, 1998 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated, pp. 142-143).
Herning, Herning Kunstmuseum, Piero Manzoni John Nixon, 2000, no. 23 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated). This exhibition later travelled to Berlin, Daimlerchrysler Kunstraum and Reutlingen, Stiftung für Konkrete Kunst.
Prague, Veletre?ní Palác, National Gallery, Beyond preconceptions: the sixties experiment, 2000-2001, no. 37 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated, p. 92). This exhibition later travelled to Varsaw, The Zacheta National Gallery of Art; Buenos Aires, Museo de Arte Moderno. Centro Recoleta; Rio de Janeiro, Paço Imperial; São Paolo, Museum of Brazilian Art, Fundação Armando Alvarez Penteado; Gainesville, Samuel P. Harn Museum and Berkely, Berkeley Art Museum.
Brussels, Galerie des Beaux-Artes, Voici, 100 ans d’art contemporain, 2000-2001 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated, p. 113).
Milan, Studio Gastaldelli, Piero Manzoni, 2002 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated).
Naples, MADRE, Museo d’Arte contemporanea Donnaregina, Piero Manzoni, 2007, nos. 153-154 (others from the edition exhibited, illustrated in colour, pp. 192-193).
Frankfurt, Städel Museum, Piero Manzoni. When Bodies Became Art, 2013 (others from the edition exhibited, illustrated in colour, pp. 174-175).

Special Notice

Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.

Brought to you by

Alessandro Diotallevi

adiotallevi@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2954

Lot Essay

This Corpo d'aria is number one: quite something for a collector. The original work is truly intriguing: a balloon that could be inflated by the artist and, resting on the appropriate metal support, indicated the presence of his breath: an allusion to the body (as in other works by him).
But many years after its realisation, of the body of air, the heavy trace of the original idea remains. I confess that I experienced a strange feeling when I saw, inside its wooden box, the solidified balloon, with all the work's "accessories", carefully kept by someone else, before me. The insanity of art is contagious: perhaps it is transmitted by people with a particular DNA?

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