Giovanni Anselmo (5 August 1934 – 18 December 2023) was an Italian artist, who emerged after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

within the art movement called

Arte Povera Arte Povera (; literally "poor art") was an art movement that took place between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s in major cities throughout Italy and above all in Turin. Other cities where the movement was also important are ...

. His most famous artwork is ''Untitled (Sculpture That Eats)'' (1968), a piece of art representing time and nature.

Biography

After completing classical studies, he trained as a self-taught painter. He made his debut in 1967 as part of a group exhibition at Galleria Sperone in Turin with two untitled polymateric works. He participated, starting the following year, in the exhibitions of the

group, led by critic

Germano Celant Germano Celant (11 September 1940 – 29 April 2020) was an Italian art historian, critic, and curator who coined the term "Arte Povera" (poor art) in the 1967 ''Flash Art'' piece "Appunti Per Una Guerriglia" ("Notes on a guerrilla war"), which w ...

, together with

Michelangelo Pistoletto Michelangelo Pistoletto (born 23 June 1933) is an Italian painter, action and object artist, and art theorist. Pistoletto is acknowledged as one of the main representatives of the Italian Arte Povera. His work mainly deals with the subject mat ...

, Piero Gilardi, and

Gilberto Zorio Gilberto Zorio (born 1944 in Andorno Micca) is an Italian artist associated with the Italian Arte Povera movement. Zorio's artwork shows his fascination with natural processes, alchemical transformation, and the release of energy. His sculptures, ...

. In 1968 he held his first solo exhibition at Galleria Sperone and at the same time began to present some of his works at international events, such as the

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

exhibition When Attitudes Become Form in 1969. Anselmo took part in the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

in 1978, 1980, and 1990, the year he won the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguished prizes. In 1970, a ...

for Painting. His work consists mainly of installations related to the concept of energy, which plays on balancing relationships between opposing thrusts. He died in Turin on December 18, 2023, he was 89 years old.

Arte Povera movement

Born on 5 August 1934, he participated in Arte Povera events starting in 1967, when he displayed his work in the context of the exhibition ''ConTempL'azione''. This show was curated by Daniela Palazzoli in three galleries in Turin: Christian Stein, Sperone, and ll Punto.

Contemporary artists

Anselmo's work was and contunues to be shown alongside that of numerous other artists mostly from the Arte Povers pantheon, including,

Getulio Alviani Getulio Alviani (5 September 1939 in Udine – 24 February 2018 in Milan) was an Italian painting, painter based in Milan. He is considered to be an important International Op Art, Optical - Kinetic art, kinetic artist. Life and work Alviani w ...

Alighiero Boetti Alighiero Fabrizio Boetti, known as Alighiero e Boetti (16 December 1940 – 24 April 1994) was an Italian Conceptual Art, conceptual artist, considered to be a member of the art movement Arte Povera. Background Boetti is most famous for a se ...

Luciano Fabro Luciano Fabro (November 20, 1936 – June 22, 2007) was an Italian sculptor, conceptual artist and writer associated with the Arte Povera movement. Life Fabro was born in Turin, and he moved to Udine, in the Friuli region after his father's d ...

Mario Merz Mario Merz (1 January 1925 – 9 November 2003) was an Italian artist, and husband of Marisa Merz. Life Born in Milan, Merz started drawing during World War II, when he was imprisoned for his activities with the ''Giustizia e Libertà'' ant ...

, Aldo Mondino, Ugo Nespolo,

Giuseppe Penone Giuseppe Penone (born 3 April 1947, Garessio) is an Italian artist and sculptor, known for his large-scale sculptures of trees. He is interested in the link between man and the natural world.

, Gianni Piacentino,

, Paolo Scheggi, Gianni Emilio Simonetti, and

Death

Anselmo died on 18 December 2023, at the age of 89.

Works

Anselmo's first solo exhibition was in 1968 at the Galleria Sperone in Milan. One of his works from 1971 is titled ''Invisible''. Another from 1984 is titled ''senza titolo''. Anselmo participated in the Venice Biennales of 1978, 1980 and 1990. He held solo exhibitions around the world after debuting in Milan. His exhibitions were held in the

Renaissance Society The Renaissance Society, founded in 1915, is a leading independent contemporary art museum located on the campus of the University of Chicago, with a focus on the commissioning and production of new works by international artists. The kunsthalle- ...

, Chicago (1997), Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels (2002), Museum Kurhaus Kleve (2004), Stedelijk Museum, Gent (2005), and Kunstmuseum Winterthur (2013) and his work has been present in the permanent collection at Collezione Maramotti since 2007.

Biography

Arte Povera movement

Contemporary artists

Death

Works

References

Further reading