Collection: Pino Pascali

Pino Pascali (Bari, 1935 – Rome, 1968) is one of the most charismatic and revolutionary figures in post-World War II Italian art. Born in Puglia but active primarily in Rome, Pascali transformed his academic training and experience as a set and advertising designer into an innovative, multidisciplinary artistic language deeply rooted in Mediterranean culture.

After studying set design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, Pascali worked for RAI (Italian National Television) and in advertising, where he developed a strong sensitivity to imagery, visual rhythm, and the theatricality of objects. These elements are present since his artistic debut in the early 1960s, where the use of industrial, synthetic, and humble materials is combined with references to play, nature, and personal memory.

His first solo exhibition, in 1965 at Galleria La Tartaruga in Rome, marked a turning point in the Italian art scene. The works of that period—such as the celebrated "Armi" and "Animali finti"—are not simple sculptures, but ironic and ambiguous visual experiences that question the perception of reality and the very role of the artwork. Pascali constructed evocative objects using materials such as foam, rope, steel, and carpet, redefining the categories of sculpture and anticipating the languages ​​of installation and performance.

In 1967, he joined the historic core of Arte Povera, a movement that shared an interest in raw materials, the direct relationship between space, body, and work, and a reflection on cultural identity in a contemporary context. His works, such as "1 cubic meter of earth," "1 cubic meter of water," and the installations of the so-called "plowed fields," introduced a poetics of earth, water, sand, and roots into the artistic lexicon, with a strong connection to his homeland and the Apulian landscape.

Pascali's sudden death, at just 32, in a motorcycle accident in 1968, interrupted an explosive yet already extraordinarily accomplished artistic career. In just a few years, the artist had already redefined the concept of sculpture, anticipated experiential minimalism, and pioneered a profoundly Italian, yet universal, approach to contemporaneity.

Pino Pascali's legacy is now internationally recognized: his works are included in the collections of the world's most important museums, including the MoMA in New York, the Tate Modern in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the MAXXI in Rome. He is celebrated not only for the visionary power of his work, but also for the originality with which he combined art and life, nature and artifice, local roots and global experimentation.

Today, Pino Pascali is considered a key artist in understanding the evolution of Italian contemporary art and its openness to new installation, relational, and ecological languages. His work continues to inspire new generations of artists and curators, thanks to a coherent, provocative, and profoundly authentic production.