Art, Alberto Burri

http://www.all-art.org/art_20th_century/burri1.html  
 

Alberto Burri Biography

1915           Born March 12 in Città di Castello, Italy
1940           Medical Degree, University of Perugia,
1940           Served as a physician during World War II
1944           Capture in Tunisia,  interned in a prisoner-of-war camp in Texas 1944           He started to paint on the burlap that was at hand
1946           Released from camp and moved to Rome,
1947           First solo show,  Galleria La Margherita, Rome
1949           Experimented with various unorthodox materials,
 - 1950        Fabricating,  tactile collages with pumice, tar, and burlap

1953           Recognised in America,
                   Group exhibition 'Younger European Painters',
                   Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York,
                  Also Frumkin Gallery, Chicago, and the Stable Gallery, New York

1959           Won the UNESCO Prize at the São Paulo Bienal
1977           Retrospective of work inaugurated, University of California
1994           Presented Italian Order of Merit
1995           Died February 15 in Nice, France

b. 1915, Città di Castello, Italy; d. 1995, Nice, France

Alberto Burri was born in 1915, in Città di Castello, Italy. Burri began not as an artist but as a doctor, earning his medical degree in 1940 from the University of Perugia and serving as a physician during World War II.  After  his unit’s capture in Tunisia, 1944, he became interned in a prisoner-of-war camp in  Texas. This is  where he started to paint on the burlap that was readily at hand.

(Burlap is a woven cloth created from jute, hemp or flax fibers. These plants are not known for their silky or cottony textures, so the result is a coarse fabric with a large weave pattern and natural beige coloring. Burlap is often used to form storage bags for grains, potatoes and other bulky materials. Burlap bags can be imprinted with rudimentary logos or trademarks to help identify their contents.)
After his release from the prisoner of war camp in 1946, Burri moved to Rome and held his first solo show at the Galleria La Margherita the following year.
Around 1949–50 Burri experimented with various unorthodox materials, fabricating tactile collages with pumice, tar, and burlap. At this time, he also commenced the Mold and the Hunchback series; the latter were humped canvases that broke with the traditional two-dimensional plane.
 
His preoccupation with ambiguity of image and use of non-art materials led Burri to help set up  'Gruppo Origine', a group of contemporary Italian artists in 1950. This was in opposition to mainstream movement in decorative abstraction. The artists in 'Gruppo Origine' exhibited their work together in 1951 at the Galleria dell’Obelisco, Rome.

From 1953 onwards Burri became better known in America. His  work was included in the group exhibition Younger European Painters at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and other galleries throughout America. In the mid-1950s Burri began burning his mediums, a technique he termed 'combustione'. These charred wood and burlap works were first exhibited in 1957 at the Galleria dell’Obelisco. In 1958 his welded iron sheets were shown at the Galleria Blu, Milan. In 1959 he won the UNESCO Prize at the São Paulo Bienal.

Pushing  the combustione technique even further, in the 1960’s  he started to burn plastic. These works were exhibited in 1962 at the Marlborough Galleria, Rome.
Burri turned to another industrial material, Cellotex, in 1979, and continued to use it throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
( Cellotex is a leading brand of rigid insulation. Celotex is made by blending together materials to form a rigid foam product. The heat generated during the reaction enable gases to evaporate and become trapped within cells delivering premium thermal performance characteristics.)
 The artist died on February 15, 1995, in Nice, France.

delete reply vickiecollins wrote on Feb 19 wow, interesting material for artwork. http://vickiecollins.multiply.com/journal/item/1372/Art_Sunday_To_Kill_a_Mockingbird

delete reply rabbitfriendhere wrote on Feb 19 burlap is cool! fashion world look out! :-)

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Feb 19 you state what i like about it better then i could lol i like the variations on the theme also i don't know why that attracts me but it does :)

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Feb 19 Good Morning Nemo..............I thought you would. I was not looking for this, I started out looking for fabric art which I've become quite interested in, but found this instead. Actually, I love it too. I like the ingenuity and the use of unusual materials. I also like the earth colours, it all look quite natural. And.. if you look at the composition of the pieces, its good.........weird materials or not.... this guy is seriously good.

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Feb 19 this might not be up everyones alley but i love it :)

delete reply mitchylr wrote on Feb 18 Really interesting works. I've always liked art that breaks with traditional conformity.