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Lot Essay
Intersuperficie curva bianca is one of Paolo Scheggi's distinctive monochrome, multi-layered canvases and dates from one of the most vibrant watershed moments in post-war European art. Featuring several overlapping surfaces, with the top two penetrated with sinuously-shaped forms, Intersuperficie curva bianca creates a complex and dynamic interplay of layers. This results in a process of concealment and revelation that cuts to the entire heart of representation in art. Scheggi made Intersuperficie curva bianca in 1963, towards the beginning of the incredible decade of productivity during which he created the most important of his works-- and which was cut short by his death in 1971, when he was still only in his early 30s. The brevity of his career has added to the rarity of his works.
One of Scheggi's formative moments had come when he had been studying in London. There, he was exposed to the rigorous works of the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian, as well as those of Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth. Looking at Intersuperficie curva bianca, the influence of those British artists can be seen, both in the monochrome palette and in the looping sensuality of the curved openings that puncture the surfaces. That sensuality was a characteristic that was more in evident in Scheggi's works in the earlier part of the 1960s, as it subsequently gave way to increasing regularity, to codified forms such as the rows of circles, each showing glimpses of another surface behind them, that would dominate his output during the second half of the decade.
By 1963, when he made Intersuperficie curva bianca, Scheggi had already made a significant mark on the Milanese art scene. His works had been included in a show celebrating contemporary monochrome earlier in the year, shown alongside the likes of Lucio Fontana, Yves Klein and Piero Manzoni. He had become acquainted with many of these figures, not least through his friendship with the fashion designer Germana Marucelli, who had become the lynchpin of a salon-like group that included many of the contemporary artists of the day. In this way, he became friends with a number of the trailblazing artists of the day. Scheggi's own works showed similar concerns to those of figures such as Fontana, Enrico Castellani, Agostino Bonalumi and others: he was disrupting not just the surface, but the entire premise of the surface. In Intersuperficie curva bianca, this is achieved through the layering of different shaped canvases, an act that shows both technical supremacy and a disciplined eye for composition. The result is an object that defies simple characterisation as a picture: instead, it has a sculptural, three-dimensional element. It invites the viewer through its teasing glimpses of surfaces beyond, inspiring curiosity and indeed fascination.
One of Scheggi's formative moments had come when he had been studying in London. There, he was exposed to the rigorous works of the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian, as well as those of Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth. Looking at Intersuperficie curva bianca, the influence of those British artists can be seen, both in the monochrome palette and in the looping sensuality of the curved openings that puncture the surfaces. That sensuality was a characteristic that was more in evident in Scheggi's works in the earlier part of the 1960s, as it subsequently gave way to increasing regularity, to codified forms such as the rows of circles, each showing glimpses of another surface behind them, that would dominate his output during the second half of the decade.
By 1963, when he made Intersuperficie curva bianca, Scheggi had already made a significant mark on the Milanese art scene. His works had been included in a show celebrating contemporary monochrome earlier in the year, shown alongside the likes of Lucio Fontana, Yves Klein and Piero Manzoni. He had become acquainted with many of these figures, not least through his friendship with the fashion designer Germana Marucelli, who had become the lynchpin of a salon-like group that included many of the contemporary artists of the day. In this way, he became friends with a number of the trailblazing artists of the day. Scheggi's own works showed similar concerns to those of figures such as Fontana, Enrico Castellani, Agostino Bonalumi and others: he was disrupting not just the surface, but the entire premise of the surface. In Intersuperficie curva bianca, this is achieved through the layering of different shaped canvases, an act that shows both technical supremacy and a disciplined eye for composition. The result is an object that defies simple characterisation as a picture: instead, it has a sculptural, three-dimensional element. It invites the viewer through its teasing glimpses of surfaces beyond, inspiring curiosity and indeed fascination.