Untitled (Slashed Column)

Arnaldo Pomodoro

Arnaldo Pomodoro was exploring the structure of the column in 1968. In this image, printed in five colors, the two columns in the foreground are halved at a 45 degree angle. Pomodoro returned to work with Collectors Press and de Soto in 1970 on a series of color lithographs that explored the subject of slashing a column at an angle, depicted in two dimensions and color. This impression is a Collectors Press Artist’s Proof, apart from the published edition.

Pomodoro titled the prints of the series “Colonna recisa trasversalmente” (Transversely Severed Column). They were printed in 2 editions by Collectors Press Master Printer Charles Ringness under the supervision of Ernesto de Soto in San Francisco. There were 35 impressions published by Collector's Press and an edition of 40, published by Marlborough Graphics in New York.

Pomodoro was the designer of the famous "Sphere Within Sphere” located at the Vatican, and constructed his first-ever architectural sculpture in 2012. Titled "The Carapace,” the structure reflects its name by taking on the shape of a tortoise shell. The building is located on the Castelbuono Estate in Umbria, Italy.

Arnaldo Pomodoro, sculptor, goldsmith, teacher, set designer, was born in Montefeltro, Italy on 23 June 1926. He grew up in Pesaro and he was schooled there in architecture and goldsmithing. Arnaldo is the brother of sculptor Giò Pomodoro (1930-2002). From the mid-1940s until 1957, Arnaldo served as a consultant for the restoration of public buildings in Pesaro that were bombed during World War II. During this time, he studied stage design and worked as a goldsmith with his brother Giò.

In 1954, Arnaldo moved to Milan, where he met fellow artists Enrico Baj, Sergio Dangelo, and Lucio Fontana. His work was first exhibited that year at the Galleria Numero in Florence and at the Galleria Montenapoleone in Milan. The following year his sculpture was shown for the first time at the Galleria del Naviglio in Milan. Arnaldo visited New York in 1956, traveled around Europe in 1958, and visited Paris is 1959 where he met Alberto Giacometti and Georges Mathieu. He helped found the Continuità group in Italy in 1961–62.

Arnaldo traveled to Brazil for the 1963 São Paulo Biennial, where he was awarded the Sculpture Prize. The Venice Biennale of 1964 featured a solo show of his work and the following year he was given the first of many solo exhibitions at the Marlborough Galleries in New York and Rome. In 1966, Arnaldo was commissioned to make a sphere for the Expo in Montreal, which is now in front of the Farnesina in Rome. In 1967, he was represented in the Italian Pavilion at Expo ’67 in Montreal, and he received a prize at the Carnegie International in Pittsburgh.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Arnaldo executed commissions for outdoor sculpture in Darmstadt, New York, and Milan. He has many monumental sculptures in squares and important locations around the globe. In 1975, a retrospective of Pomodoro work, sponsored by the Municipality of Milan, was held at the Rotonda della Besana.

Arnaldo taught in the art departments at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California; the University of California, Berkeley; and Mills College in Oakland, California. The Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro, founded in 1995, for which Pomodoro served as director, has been dedicated to the exhibition and funding of artists. Arnaldo Pomodoro lives and works in Milan.