(1901 – 1986), Italy

Fausto Melotti Biography

Fausto Melotti (b. 1901, Rovereto, Italy; d. 1986, Milan, Italy) was an Italian painter and sculptor who is known for his slender brass sculptures and small ceramics. Melotti's early education in Florence introduced him to the art of the Renaissance which would have a profound influence throughout his life. In the interwar years, Melotti became a leading member of the group of Milanese abstract artists which included his lifelong friend Lucio Fontana. Inspired by his engineering and music studies, Melotti's abstract sculptures had an immaterial, rhythmic and intellectual effect on its viewers; a mixture of nature, geometry and music delicately expressed in brass or plaster. After witnessing the destruction of the Second World War, Melotti felt it necessary to introduce the human figure into his work. The small ceramic stage sets, or 'teatrini', produced at this time were more narrative and theatrical than his earlier work; their fatalistic melancholy would endure in his creations. Like the city squares of de Chirico's 'metaphysical paintings', Melotti's little theatres urge the viewer to bring to life narrative fragments into a coherent performance. By the late 1960's Melotti's transformation of commonplace materials such as plaster and painted fabric linked him to the Arte Povera generation of artists.

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Melotti was educated in Florence and went on to complete a degree in electronic engineering in Milan. In 1928 Melotti studied sculpture at Brera Academy, Milan, where he met Lucio Fontana. Melotti's first exhibition was held at the Galleria del Milione, Milan, in 1935. In 1951 Melotti was awarded the Grand Prix at the Milan Triennale. Solo exhibitions were held at the Museum am Ostwall, Dortmund (1971), the Marlborough Gallery, Zurich (1973), the Palazzo Reale, Milan (1979) and the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome (1983). After his death in 1986 his work was exhibited worldwide, including the Kodama Gallery, Osaka (1990) and Paolo Baldacci Gallery, New York (1994). Most recently the Museum of Contemporary Art at Grand Hornu, Belgium, organised a major retrospective (2004). In 2013, the exhibition Klee-Melotti was held at the Museo d'Arte Lugano. Shortly after his death in 1986, Melotti was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale.

Fausto Melotti
featured artworks

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I lavandai (The Launderers) by Fausto Melotti contemporary artwork sculpture
Fausto Melotti I lavandai (The Launderers), 1969 Brass, copper
133 x 99.1 x 57.2 cm
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La pioggia (The Rain) by Fausto Melotti contemporary artwork sculpture
Fausto Melotti La pioggia (The Rain), 1966 (1970) Gold
61 x 29 x 18 cm
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La forestina (The Small Forest) by Fausto Melotti contemporary artwork sculpture
Fausto Melotti La forestina (The Small Forest), 1971 Stainless steel
60 x 36 x 36 cm
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Rondò delle idee galanti by Fausto Melotti contemporary artwork sculpture
Fausto Melotti Rondò delle idee galanti, 1981 Brass and painted fabric
51 x 40 x 40 cm
Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art Request Price & Availability
Coppetta by Fausto Melotti contemporary artwork sculpture
Fausto Melotti Coppetta, c. 1960 Ceramic, polychrome glazed
6 x 14.2 x 14.2 cm
Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art Request Price & Availability
Bomboniera by Fausto Melotti contemporary artwork sculpture
Fausto Melotti Bomboniera, c. 1960 Ceramic, polychrome glazed
2.9 x 8.1 x 5.6 cm
Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art Request Price & Availability
Coppetta by Fausto Melotti contemporary artwork sculpture
Fausto Melotti Coppetta, c. 1960 Ceramic, polychrome glazed
Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art Request Price & Availability
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Fausto Melotti
recent exhibitions

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Represented by these
Ocula Member Galleries

Cardi Gallery contemporary art gallery in Milan, Italy
Cardi Gallery London, Milan
Hauser & Wirth contemporary art gallery in Hong Kong
Hauser & Wirth Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris +8
Mazzoleni contemporary art gallery in Turin, Italy
Mazzoleni London, Turin
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