Umberto Pettinicchio - Untitled

The work before us draws on the language of the Informal art movement. This developed as a reaction to the devastation wrought by the Second World War. The profound impact it left on Western civilization led to communication difficulties, which were expressed through a dense application of color that transcended the figurative and communicative. In terms of the emphasis placed on instinctive gestures, Informal art approaches Abstract Expressionism, seeking a primarily gestural and material whole that draws on the subconscious. In the work presented here, this style approaches a return to the figurative; we see a mass of human figures juxtaposed and overlapping.

Umberto Pettinicchio's primary focus is the human figure. His art develops from an expressionist style, then progresses toward a continuous abstraction that eventually leads to Informalism. Only a vaguely discernible semblance of the figure remains, while, formally, everything is transformed in the artist's pictorial gesture. Pettinicchio's gesture obliterates dimensional planes and achieves a two-dimensionality with figures outlined by thick, animated lines. Pettinicchio's work seems like a sort of brutalist approach along the lines of Dubuffet, but while the Frenchman emphasized the material, our artist resolves everything through the painterly application.

Umberto Pettinicchio was born in Torremaggiore, in the province of Foggia, in 1943. He studied at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, where he graduated in painting and sculpture. He began exhibiting his first works in 1967, subsequently participating in solo shows in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, and Florida. In 1975, he held a solo show in Milan, which was introduced by Raffaele de Grada, one of the most renowned critics of the twentieth century. The following year, thanks to the patronage of Luigi Fissati, he was able to move into his own studio, marking his definitive success. His works are still held in important museums throughout Europe. His last solo exhibition took place in 2011, when he exhibited in Lausanne alongside photographer Steve McCurry.

The transaction takes place with maximum security for both the seller and the buyer. We take care of the conformity (provenance, authenticity, state of conservation) of the work and handle the shipping.
Returns are possible no later than 14 days after receiving the order.