Selected Works by Piero Dorazio (1927–2005)

SELECTED WORKS BY PIERO DORAZIO (1927–2005)

Portrait of Piero Dorazio, 1972 Photo: Chris Felver

Light verily exists in Dorazio, and will become a kind of reality in painting thanks to Dorazio, a concentration and fixation on a point of light re-emerging from abyss, repeated to infinity.

— Dore Ashton, 2004

Piero Dorazio (1927–2005) Piccolo Mattutino, 1958 Oil on canvas 19 1/2 x 13 3/4 in. (49.5 x 34.9 cm) Signed lower right: Dorazio `58

Piero Dorazio (1927–2005) (Black), 1960 Pastel on paper 28 x 20 1/4 in. (71.1 x 51.4 cm) Signed and dated lower right: Dorazio ´60

Piero Dorazio (1927–2005) (Grey), 1959 Watercolor on grey paper 23 x 19 1/4 in. (58.4 x 48.9 cm) Signed and dated lower right: Dorazio ´59

Piero Dorazio (1927–2005) (Red, Orange, and Black), 1960 Watercolor and crayon on paper 20 1/2 x 28 1/4 in. (52.1 x 71.8 cm) Signed and dated lower right: Dorazio 60

Piero Dorazio (1927–2005) (Grey), 1960 Charcoal on paper 27 x 19 3/4 in. (68.6 x 50.2 cm) Signed and dated lower right: Dorazio ´60

Piero Dorazio (1927–2005) (Black), 1960 Vine charcoal on paper 13 1/2 x 20 1/4 in. (34.3 x 51.4 cm) Signed and dated lower left: Piero Dorazio 1960

Piero Dorazio (1927–2005) (Green, Orange, and Yellow), 1961 Colored crayon and pastel on cardboard 17 1/4 x 14 in. (43.8 x 35.6 cm) Signed and dated lower right: Dorazio, 1961

Piero Dorazio (1927–2005) (Black), 1960 Charcoal on paper 13 1/2 x 20 1/4 in. (34.3 x 51.4 cm) Signed and dated lower right: Dorazio, 60

Piero Dorazio (1927–2005) Pink, 1962 Watercolor on paper 27 1/2 x 19 1/4 in. (69.0 x 48.9 cm) Signed and dated lower right: Dorazio ´62

Piero Dorazio (1927–2005) (Rainbow Colors), 1984 Watercolor on paper 20 1/16 x 39 1/4 in. (51 x 99.7 cm) Signed and dated lower right: Piero Dorazio 1984

Piero Dorazio (1927–2005) (Color Lines on Red Background), 1998 Ink, crayon, and watercolor on paper 19 1/2 x 25 1/2 in. (49.5 x 64.8 cm) Signed and dated lower right: Piero Dorazio 1998

CHRONOLOGY 1927 Piero Dorazio was born in Rome on June 29.

1933 He studies at the Liceo classico “Giulio Cesare,” Rome. In 1942–43, he paints landscapes inspired by the Roman countryside and still lifes. During the 1945 bombing of Rome and until 1943 he moves with his family to Abruzzo. After returning to Rome in 1944 he enrolls as a translator for the Royal Army

Service Corps and for the Red Cross, while finishing his studies.

1946 He attends the School of Architecture in Rome without finishing. He follows some classes at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Rome. With

Achille Perilli, Mino Guerrini, Lucio Manisco, Carlo Aymonino, Carlo Busiri Vici, Alfio Barbagallo, and Renzo Vespignani he founds the “Arte Sociale”

group. With Perilli, Manisco, and Nello Ponente Dorazio attends lectures by Lionello Venturi at the faculty of Liberal Arts, Rome. Dorazio visits Severini in his

studio in Rome and studies futurist paintings with Perilli.

1947 Dorazio, Guerrini, and Perilli with Carla Accardi, Antonio Sanfilippo, Ugo Attardi, and Concetto Maugeri establish the Forma 1 group. On March 17, 1947 the

magazine Forma is published featuring the group’s manifesto. Right after publishing the Forma 1 manifesto Dorazio, Perilli, and Guerrini travel to Paris as stu dents to see impressionist and cubist works. In the summer, Dorazio, Perilli, and Guerrini participate in the “World Festival of Youth and Students” in Prague.

In October, Dorazio receives a grant from the French government to study at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in Paris. Gino Severini and his wife

Jeanne introduce him to Georges Braque, Fernand Léger, Hans Arp, Alberto Magnelli, Picasso, and Le Corbusier.

1948 He publishes for Giornale della Sera a series of articles on Paris-based artists and on abstract art.

1949 In the fall, Dorazio, Perilli, and Guerrini are invited to join an international art workshop in Leopoldskrohn, Salzburg. Dorazio, Perilli, Manisco, and Guerrini leave

the group Forma 1.

1950 Dorazio, Perilli, and Guerrini open a gallery-bookshop in Rome called L’Age d’Or, specialized in avant-garde books and magazines and hosting abstract art.

1951 Lucio Fontana invites Age d‘Or to collaborate with the Triennale in Milan. Dorazio, Guerrini and Perilli work together on two large wall-paintings, awarded with a

silver medal. Group Origine (Ballocco, Burri, Capogrossi and Colla) and Age d‘Or join together in the Fondazione Origine.

1952 Dorazio obtains a grant by the French government to spend 4 months in Paris. He presents a conference on abstract art at the X Quadriennale in Rome. This

research will serve as a basis for the book La fantasia dell’arte nella vita moderna. He exhibits three drawings at the XXVI Venice Biennale, with Perilli, Burri, and Guerrini.

1953 In June, he leaves for the Unites States, invited by the Harvard International Summer Seminar at Harvard University, Cambridge. He holds two conferences titled Italy: A New Culture in An Old Society. In October, an exhibition of his works on paper opens at George Wittenborn’s One-Wall Gallery, New York. Rose

Fried visits his studio and invites him to exhibit his “cartographies” the following year.

1954 Dorazio returns to Rome in June and moves with his studio to Piazza Armellini. He leaves the Fondazione Origine and the “Arti Visive” to entirely devote himself

to painting. He participates in the Triennale in Milan with a large wall composition.

1955 His book La fantasia dell’arte nella vita moderna is published by Polveroni e Quinti Editori, Rome. In March, he presents his first solo shows in Italy, at Galleria

Apollinaire, Milan, and at Galleria del Cavallino, Venice. He participates in several group shows including those organized by the Art Club and titled Le Arti Plasti

che e la Civiltà Meccanica at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome.

1956 He wins the prize of Città di Alessandria and the first prize ex aequo of the Ministero della pubblica istruzione for his paintings. He also participates with three

paintings in the Venice Biennale.

1957 He presents his first solo exhibition in Rome, at Galleria La Tartaruga. He moves his studio to Passeggiata di Ripetta, the artist neighborhood in the capital.

1958 For a cultural exchange program in Leverkusen, Dorazio, on behalf of the Art Club, organizes the exhibition Pittori italiani e tedeschi at the Galleria Nazionale

d’Arte Moderna, Rome. He participates with six paintings in the XXIX Venice Biennale.

1959 He takes part in Documenta II in Kassel where he meets Heinz Marck, Otto Piene, and Günther Uecker.

1960 Dorazio is invited to Zurich by Max Bill to exhibit at Konkrete Kunst: 50 Jahre. He also displays paintings at Monochrome Malerei at the Städtisches Museum,

Schloss Morsbroich, Leverkusen. He has a solo room at XXX Venice Biennale. In August, he departs for the United States, to begin teaching; he is invited to

establish the graduate Fine Arts Department at the University of Pennsylvania.

1961 The Kunstverein Düsseldorf devotes to him a major retrospective. On this occasion he joins the group Zero. He has a solo room show at São Paulo Biennial.

1962 He participates in some exhibitions with the group Continuità, including Perilli, Consagra, Arnaldo and Giò Pomodoro, and Novelli. He wins the Premio Termoli

and the Premio Lignano Sabbiadoro.

1963 He continues to teach in Philadelphia one semester each year and becomes Associate Professor.

1964 He holds solo shows at Galleria Marlborough and Galleria Il Segno, Rome.

1965 He participates in several exhibitions in Europe and the United States, including The Responsive Eye at MoMA, New York. In Rome, he moves his studio to a

new location in Villa Giulia.

1966 The poet Ungaretti writes an essay on his art for Dorazio’s retrospective at Galerie Im Erker, St. Gallen. He is invited to present a room at the XXXIII Venice Biennale.

1967 In St. Gallen he illustrates Ungaretti’s poem collection La luce. For the VI Biennale d’Arte the Republic of San Marino organizes a large retrospective of his pain-

tings together with works by Victor Vasarely.

1968 Dorazio moves to Berlin for six months, invited by the Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst.

1969 He continues to teach at the University of Pennsylvania, and works both in New York and Rome for an exhibition at Marlborough Gallery, New York.

1970 Dorazio abandons his teaching post to devote himself to painting. He moves his studio to Via Flaminia, just outside of Rome. He is awarded the first prize of the

III Biennial of graphic arts, Krakow.

1971 He travels to Asia and the Middle East.

1972 He designs sets and costumes for La Scala Theatre in Milan for Arnold Schönberg’s Transfigured Night.

1973 He participates in in the exhibition Plus by Minus at the Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo. He is included in the Gruppo Zero’s room at Kunstmuseum, Düsseldorf.

1974 Dorazio leaves Rome and moves to Todi in the former Camaldolese convent of Canonica, which he restores completely.

1975 The Associazione Piazza Maggiore and Comune di Todi organize a retrospective of his work. He participates in several group shows: Pittura italiana d’oggi, at

Galerie Templon, Paris and Galerie Espace in Montréal; Les prix Kandinsky, at Galerie Denise René, Paris; Color as Language, at MoMA, New York; Empirica, at

Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona.

1976 He starts a collaboration with André Emmerich Gallery, New York.

1977 The monograph Dorazio is published by Edizioni Alfieri, with an introduction by Jacques Lassaigne, a critical essay by Marisa Volpi Orlandini, and a contribution

to the catalogue raisonné by the artist and Giorgio Crisafi. The gallery Springer in Berlin organizes an important exhibition to celebrate Dorazio’s 50th birthday.

1978 He opens a workshop and a school for contemporary ceramics, the Centro Internazionale della Ceramica, Montesanto.

1979 The Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo, New York, organizes a major touring exhibition of his work, presented in several museums around the United States. First

large retrospective exhibition in France, at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.

1980 He presents a solo exhibition at the Galleria del Planetario, Trieste.

1981 The Wilhelm Hack Museum, Ludwigshafen, and the Neue Pinakothek, Munich, host an important exhibition of his work.

1982

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991

1992

1993

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

1999 2000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Exhibitions at Museum Quadrat, Bottrop, and Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome. He participates in Italian Art 1960–1980 at the Hayward Gallery, London and in Carnegie International Exhibition at Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh.

He starts to write regularly for Corriere della Sera.

He travels to Japan for two exhibitions at Seibu Gallery and Face Gallery in Tokyo.

The President of Italy Sandro Pertini awards Dorazio with the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca prize.

The gallery Springer in Berlin organizes an important exhibition to celebrate Dorazio’s 60th birthday.

Solo exhibition room at the XLII Venice Biennale.

He organizes a major show Rassegna degli artisti dal centro Italia — Ad Villam in Perugia at the Rocca Paolina.

Dorazio receives the Alcide de Gasperi prize for the arts and sciences. He designs a large mosaic for Italmosaic, Spilimbergo.

Exhibition of works on paper at the Kodama Gallery, Osaka. The Musée de Grenoble and the Galleria Comunale d’Arte Moderna, Bologna host a large exhibition with over 80 paintings. He organizes the exhibition Beauty Is Difficult dedicated to Ezra Pound at Museion, Bolzano.

The Kunstverein Ludwigshafen presents a retrospective on his works on paper. He is appointed member of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin and of the Acca - demia Nazionale di San Luca in Rome.

The Art Curial Galerie, Paris, presents a selection of his objects and fashion designs. From 1993 to 1996 he directs “Arte-Metro-Roma,” the creation of mo- saics by a number of international artists in the metro stations across Rome.

A retrospective of his work is presented at the Athens Civic Museum. His work is included in the Solomon R. Guggenheim exhibition The Italian Metamorphosis He participates in the exhibition Les figures de la liberté at Centre Pompidou, Paris.

He takes part in the exhibition Face à l’histoire at Centre Pompidou, Paris. The Calcografia Nazionale di Roma presents a retrospective exhibition of his works.

He receives the Michelangelo Prize from Accademia dei Virtuosi del Pantheon.

The city of Belluno presents a retrospective of 50 years of works on paper at Palazzo Crepadona and the City of Milan hosts a survey show of his paintings from 1960 to 1970 at PAC — Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea.

He realizes a glass window for Palazzo della Cultura in Acilia.

Achim Moeller Fine Art, New York devotes an exhibition to his paintings from the 1950s. Carima and Comune di Macerata award him with the Scipione prize for painting. The Dresdner Bank in Heidelberg inaugurates a bank venue with an exhibition of Dorazio’s work.

The exhibition Dorazio Jazz opens at Museion, Bolzano. He realizes a glass window for City Hall in Rome.

He exhibits at Galleria Ulisse, Rome, at Galleria Cappelletti, Milan, and at Galleria Aras, Ravensburg.

A large retrospective of his work opens at IVAM - Institut Valencia D’Art Modern, Valencia.

He presents recent works at Achim Moeller Gallery, New York, and at Galerie Valentien, Stuttgart.

Piero Dorazio dies in Perugia on May 17.

(Chronology from the Archivio Piero Dorazio, https://archiviopierodorazio.it/en/cronologia/)

Achim Moeller is a member of the Honorary Committee of the

Š 2020 Achim Moeller Art Advisory, New York