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Lot Essay
Created in 1976, Notturno alle Haway is an elegant example of the growing complexity of Fausto Melotti’s sculpture as he entered the second phase of his artistic career, following a period of creative silence caused by the trauma of the Second World War. Spurred by the emergence of a new generation of Italian artists intent on subverting classical notions of sculpture and painting, Melotti began to explore his pre-war experiments in abstraction once again, playing with the materiality of his constructions and pushing the whimsical and poetic dimensions of his work to new levels. Over the course of the 1960s and 70s he developed a unique sculptural language, which resulted in the creation of a series of beautifully ordered, precise yet lyrical metal sculptures built from thin sheets and delicate threads of brass, gold and steel.
Melotti saw a completely new aesthetic potential in these dynamic materials: ‘I use metal because it brings me close to drawing: with metal I can draw in space,’ the artist explained (F. Melotti, quoted in Melotti, exh. cat., Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome, 1983, p. 10). Eschewing the weighty presence and promise of durability denoted by traditional sculpture, he instead embraced a distinct lightness in these works – the brass is thinned to spindly threads, slender panels and sheer, willowy stretches of mesh, which quiver and shine with an apparent weightlessness while still retaining their essential tensile strength. In Notturno alle Haway the artist plays with the contrasting textures of these materials, juxtaposing a long, diaphanous strip of metallic fabric suspended between two thin pylons against the smooth sensuousness of the sheet of polished brass arrows below.
While the title of the sculpture conjures images of a night-time ritual or procession in the unique landscape of Hawaii, the sculpture itself most likely took shape independently from any narrative intention. Instead, it is a composition built on suggestions and allusions alone, animated by the imagination of the viewer as they encounter it. As Melotti so eloquently stated: ‘Imagination offers the artwork the start of the adventure. And invention’s inspiration is alive, like in the waves, in the ebb and flow’ (F. Melotti, quoted in Fausto Melotti, exh. cat., Acquavella Galleries, New York, 2008, p. 42). While the narrative of Notturno alle Haway remains teasingly mysterious, its elegant curves and shimmering planes are nonetheless captivating, and can be spotted in a scene from Luca Guadagnino’s 2009 film, Io sono l’amore (I am Love).
Melotti saw a completely new aesthetic potential in these dynamic materials: ‘I use metal because it brings me close to drawing: with metal I can draw in space,’ the artist explained (F. Melotti, quoted in Melotti, exh. cat., Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome, 1983, p. 10). Eschewing the weighty presence and promise of durability denoted by traditional sculpture, he instead embraced a distinct lightness in these works – the brass is thinned to spindly threads, slender panels and sheer, willowy stretches of mesh, which quiver and shine with an apparent weightlessness while still retaining their essential tensile strength. In Notturno alle Haway the artist plays with the contrasting textures of these materials, juxtaposing a long, diaphanous strip of metallic fabric suspended between two thin pylons against the smooth sensuousness of the sheet of polished brass arrows below.
While the title of the sculpture conjures images of a night-time ritual or procession in the unique landscape of Hawaii, the sculpture itself most likely took shape independently from any narrative intention. Instead, it is a composition built on suggestions and allusions alone, animated by the imagination of the viewer as they encounter it. As Melotti so eloquently stated: ‘Imagination offers the artwork the start of the adventure. And invention’s inspiration is alive, like in the waves, in the ebb and flow’ (F. Melotti, quoted in Fausto Melotti, exh. cat., Acquavella Galleries, New York, 2008, p. 42). While the narrative of Notturno alle Haway remains teasingly mysterious, its elegant curves and shimmering planes are nonetheless captivating, and can be spotted in a scene from Luca Guadagnino’s 2009 film, Io sono l’amore (I am Love).