Carla Accardi Biography

Carla Accardi (b.1924, Trapani, Italy - d. 2014, Rome, Italy) became known as a founding member of the 1947 Italian avant-garde movement Forma 1, a group of artists based in Rome who, in the face of Fascism, tried to align their Marxist political beliefs with a formalist approach to abstraction. As one of the key figures of abstract art in Italy during the time, Accardi developed an iconic visual lexicon of calligraphic marks that, when combined with her minimalist colour palette and dynamic compositions, showcased the endless possibilities of abstraction. In the 1960s, Accardi began painting on Sicofoil, a transparent plastic sheeting used in commercial packaging. The dynamism in Accardi's work, as well as her emphasis on non-art materials and simple processes and structures, became a precursor to Arte Povera.