Roberto Crippa - Galleria Antonio Damiani

Roberto Crippa

(1921, Milan – 1972, Bresso, Italy)

Biography

Roberto Crippa (Milan, 1921 – Bresso, 1972) was a central figure in postwar Italian art and a key protagonist of Spatialism.

After studying at the Accademia di Brera, he moved toward abstraction and in 1949 signed the Spatialist Manifesto promoted by Lucio Fontana, becoming one of the leading figures of the movement.

From the early 1950s, he developed the iconic Spirals, dynamic signs traced on monochrome or textured surfaces, expressing a vision of space as energy in motion.

Alongside this, his research expanded into material and three-dimensional experimentation, with cycles such as Totems and Lunar Surfaces, incorporating industrial materials and relief structures.

Throughout his career, he exhibited internationally, including at the Venice Biennale and the Rome Quadriennale, contributing to the dissemination of Spatialism.

Roberto Crippa’s work represents one of the most original contributions to Italian abstraction, defined by the relationship between sign, rhythm, and material.

Museums and Collections

Works by Roberto Crippa are held in major international museums and collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

In Italy, his works are included in the collections of Museo del Novecento, the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, and Castello di Rivoli.

His presence in institutional collections confirms the relevance of his work within Spatialism and postwar abstraction.

The selection presented by Antonio Damiani Gallery offers a coherent insight into Roberto Crippa’s practice, highlighting the relationship between sign, space, and material.

The works demonstrate an approach in which gesture becomes visual energy, contributing to a new understanding of painting in the second half of the twentieth century.

Works

Roberto Crippa | Market Position and Value

Roberto Crippa holds a significant position in postwar Italian art as a key figure of Spatialism, with a practice based on gesture and material experimentation.

Works from the 1950s related to the Spirals are particularly important, representing the core of his language.

Later works characterized by material experimentation and three-dimensional structures also attract interest within the market.

The evaluation of his works depends on factors such as period, quality of the sign, material complexity, condition, and provenance.

His presence in public collections and the coherence of his research contribute to a solid and established market within twentieth-century Italian art.

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