Collection: Giorgio Griffa

"Introduction to Giorgio Griffa"

Giorgio Griffa (1936) is a leading figure in Italian art, emerging in the context of Analytical Painting and New Painting in Europe between the late 1960s and 1970s. His works, suspended between painting and writing, explore the dimensions of sign, rhythm, and time. Through raw canvases and essential lines, Griffa has constructed a unique and recognizable pictorial language, capable of redefining the relationship between gesture and meaning. Griffa explores fundamental concepts such as time (through seriality and the distance between signs), space (with the canvas as a support that maintains its natural integrity) and color (treated as energy).

Giorgio Griffa - Galleria Antonio Damiani

Biography of Giorgio Griffa

Giorgio Griffa was born in Turin in 1936, the city where he still lives and works today. He is considered one of the leading exponents of analytical art in Italy and internationally, a movement that, between the late 1960s and 1970s, profoundly explored the very language of painting, dismantling its structures and redefining its logic. Griffa's work is characterized by a constant reflection on the sign, time, and painting as a process.

After training in law, he began painting as a self-taught artist in the 1950s. Starting in 1968, Griffa abandoned figurative painting and devoted himself to radical research, which led him to paint directly on raw, unstretched canvases laid out on the floor, with simple, repeated colored marks. These strokes do not seek representation, but constitute the visual grammar of a primary, open, temporary, and constantly evolving pictorial language.

According to the artist, painting shouldn't "represent something," but simply "follow the rhythm of thought." Each work is interrupted without a defined end, leaving the "unfinished" mark as evidence of the continuity of the creative process. Time, rhythm, and repetition become structural elements of his practice.

Griffa has been associated with Arte Povera, but his stance is distinguished by a more analytical and metapictorial approach. His research draws connections with conceptual art, minimalism, and Eastern philosophies, while maintaining a strong visual identity. Since the 1970s, he has participated in major international exhibitions, including Documenta and the Venice Biennale, and exhibited in leading galleries and museums in Europe and the United States.

In the 2000s, Griffa's work was rediscovered by a new generation of curators and collectors, bringing to light the relevance of his artistic language. His canvases—numbered, dated, and often signed at the bottom—continue to explore the relationship between line, color, and space. Today, his work is represented by major international galleries and included in the permanent collections of prominent museums, cementing his position as one of the great masters of postmodern painting.

Giorgio Griffa in the museums of the world

Centre Pompidou, Paris

MoMA – Museum of Modern Art, New York

Museum of the Twentieth Century, Milan

GAM – Civic Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, Turin

Rivoli Castle – Museum of Contemporary Art, Rivoli (TO)

MACBA – Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Barcelona

Mart – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto

Museum of Contemporary Art of Villa Croce, Genoa

The National Gallery, Rome

FRAC – Fonds régional d'art contemporain, Auvergne

MAXXI Museum, Rome

Museum of Palazzo Pretorio, Prato

Giuliani Foundation, Rome

Panza di Biumo Collection, Varese

La Gaia Collection, Busca (CN)

Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation, Turin

CRT Foundation, Turin

Piero Atchugarry Private Collection, Uruguay/Italy

Intesa Sanpaolo Collection, Milan

Solo and group exhibitions

1970, Sonnabend Gallery, New York

1972, Martano Gallery, Turin

1991, Musée d'Art Moderne de Saint-Étienne

2011, Giorgio Griffa. Primary Signs, MACRO, Rome

2016, Giorgio Griffa, Centre Pompidou, Paris

2017, A Continuous Becoming, Camden Arts Centre, London

2018, Giuliani Foundation, Rome

2023, Giorgio Griffa. Primary Gestures, Museum of the Twentieth Century, Milan

1978, Venice Biennale

2013, Trame. The Forms of Contemporary Embroidery, MAXXI, Rome

2015, Arte Povera and its surroundings, GAM Turin

2019, Analytical Painting, MAMbo, Bologna

2022, Sign Language, Royal Palace, Milan

Galleria Antonio Damiani is proud to present the work of Giorgio Griffa, a master of analytical painting and a key figure in contemporary Italian art. His canvases on raw linen, constructed through essential lines and visual rhythms, reflect a unique conceptual poetics, where the pictorial gesture transforms into thought. His minimalist and profound visual language represents a key step in our selection of historicized artists of the 20th century and beyond, within an exhibition dedicated to the major figures of international modern and contemporary art.

Giorgio Griffa: Market Analysis, Style, and the Value of the Analytical Sign

Giorgio Griffa is one of the most influential figures in Italian Analytical Painting. His research is grounded in the essentiality of gesture: the mark does not describe, but rather bears witness to the movement of the hand across the canvas. His works are characterized by the use of unstretched, raw canvases (jute, hemp, or linen), which are displayed free on the wall. Griffa's language is made of lines, dots, and mathematical symbols (such as the Golden Canon) that rest on the surface, allowing the canvas itself to become an integral part of the work.

Value Drivers: Historical Cycles and the Large Canvases of the 1970s

The most valuable and collectible works are the historic pieces created between 1968 and the late 1970s, the period in which Griffa defined the canons of his poetics. Series such as "Segni Primari" are the most sought-after at international auctions. The value of a Griffa work is influenced by the quality of the textile support, the chromatic freshness of the style, and its size: the large, free-standing canvases, which occupy the space with architectural elegance, represent the pinnacle of the current market.

Authenticity and Guarantees: The Giorgio Griffa Archive

In the Analytical Painting market, traceability is a fundamental requirement. Galleria Damiani operates with the utmost scientific rigor, selecting only works whose exhibition history and provenance are documented. Each work is accompanied by an archiving certificate from the Giorgio Griffa Archive, an essential element to guarantee the originality and value of the investment over time, protecting the collector from imitations or incorrect datings.

From Specialist Consulting to Sales

Mark Analysis and Professional Appraisal: The Griffa market has undergone a significant international revaluation over the past ten years, necessitating a clear distinction between historic works and more recent production. To receive an updated quote, a professional appraisal, or strategic advice on the sale or purchase of a Giorgio Griffa work, the Gallery offers a confidential service based on in-depth knowledge of auction trends and private transactions.

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