Arnaldo Pomodoro

London, Marlborough New London Gallery, Arnaldo Pomodoro, 1968, no. 6, illustration of one of the two works

Franco Russoli, 'Spazialismo e altri Aspetti dell'Arte Europea del Dopoguerra', in: L'Arte Moderna, no. 116, 1967, Vol. XIII, pp. 291 and 302, illustration of one of the two works
Toni del Renzio, 'Arnaldo Pomodoro: Invention of a Sculptural Style', in: Art International, special issue, The 34th Venice Biennale, no. 6, Summer 1968, p. 96, illustration of one of the two works
Mario Pancera, 'Lavoro come un Muratore', in: Oggi Illustrato, no. 23, June 1969, p. 91, illustration of one of the two works
Giulio Carlo Argan, L'Arte Moderna, 1770-1970, Florence 1970, p. 653, pl. CLXVI, illustration of one of the two works
Bernd Krimmel, 'Strukturen-Sculpturen', in: Artis, March 1973, p. 28, illustration of one of the two works
Guido Ballo, Alberto Boatto, Gillo Dorfles, Libro per le Sculture di Arnaldo Pomodoro, Milan 1974, p. 33, illustration of one of the two works
Gino Masciarelli, Maestri Contemporanei, Milan 1978, pl. 13, illustration of one of the two works
Exhibition Catalogue, Rieti, Generazione Anni Venti. La Biennale Nazionale d'Arte Contemporanea, 1980, p. 172, illustration of one of the two works
Gunnar Brahammar, Kristina Garner, Moderna Mastare, Malmo 1981, pp. 361-375, illustration on p. 367 of one of the two works
Sam Hunter, Arnaldo Pomodoro, New York 1982, p. 80
'Pomodoro, la Dialettica della Sfera', in: Leader, 1984, illustration of one of the two works
Sam Hunter, John Jacobus, L'Arte del XX Secolo, Milan 1987, pp. 296-297, pl. 537, illustration of one of the two works
Colpo d'Ala di Arnaldo Pomodoro, Rome 1988, p. 40, illustration of one of the two works
Lara-Vinca Masini, Arte Contemporanea, La Linea dell'Unicità, Arte come Volontà e non Rappresentazione, Florence 1989, p. 649, pl. 1864, illustration of one of the two works
Giorgio di Genova, Storia dell'Arte Italiana del '900, Generazione Anni Venti, Bologna 1991, pl. 483, illustration of one of the two works
Sam Hunter, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Milan 1995, p. 86, illustration of one of the two works
Flaminio Guardoni, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Catalogo Ragionato della Scultura, Milan 2007, p. 524, no. 396, illustration of one of the two works

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is slightly richer in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There are a few scattered round small stains visible to the work's surface upon very close inspection, to the top of the sphere in particular. Several fine hairline scratches are visible to the work's surface.
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This work is registered in the Archivio Arnaldo Pomodoro, Milan, under number 263

"The perfection of form in Brancusi was so beautiful and mysterious: what can one do after Brancusi, or after Arp? Then at a certain moment I said to myself, really this perfection of the form in our time is inappropriate; it has to be destroyed. For me the 'destruction' element was my most important discovery, and the most authentic both in terms of myself and my times."(Arnaldo Pomodoro quoted in Sam Hunter, Arnaldo Pomodoro, New York 1982, p. 52)

 

The 'Sfere' series was begun by Arnaldo Pomodoro in the early 1960s, at a time when the artist started inquiring into primary geometric forms such as columns, pyramids, discs and cubes. It was Brancusi's influence that first inspired Pomodoro's repertory of solid geometric forms and reflective mirror-like surfaces.

 

The perfection of the form chosen, as in a play of spatial contradictions, does not correspond to the treatment of the interior. The almost surgical accuracy with which the surface is polished is likewise used to break it up with ruptures and gashes, that seem to corrode the sphere, from its core, creating a sense of visual tension; much of the cavity is left in its rough state as crude bronze castings, with darkened colour and abrasive surfaces. Pomodoro stated that: "Looking at my surface is a complex and changeable experience" (Sam Hunter, Arnaldo Pomodoro, New York 1982, p. 52) and the present work, with its distinction between the polished, perfect exterior and the corroded, (re)formed interior clearly reveals the artist's intention to make such a telling and dramatic juxtaposition.

 

This is beautifully achieved in Rotante Primo Sezionale no. 1, with its irregularity within the fracture and the reflections of the sphere's surface, serving to enliven the sculpture and highlight Pomodoro's concerns to create a work which produces inexhaustible and varied readings.