Mario Ceroli Figurative Sculptures

Mario Ceroli (Italian, 1938-) Untitled c. 1970 Wood collage on paper Cut wood attached to paper, depicting multiple figures facing each other. Hand signed and numbered to lower right 'Ceroli prova d'artista'. This work is an artist's proof. (not sure of edition) Dimensions: Framed 35.5 x 47.5. sheet 27.25 x 39.5 Provenance: Basel Art Fair, 1976 CDS Gallery, New York (bears label verso) Exhibited: Emilio Cerolli, 1976, Sala Funacion Mendoza, Caracas, Venezuela, An International Scene, 20 September - 20 December 2003, CDS Gallery, New York Mario Ceroli, born 1938 in Castel Frentano, Province of Chieti, Italy Mario Ceroli is an Italian sculptor. His work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson, Mississippi. Ceroli is one of the most influential artists of the Italian post-war period. Ceroli moved to Rome at the age of ten where he later graduated from 'Accademia delle Belle Arti'. At the Art Institute he worked under the guidance of Leoncillo Leonardi, Pericle Fazzini and Ettore Colla, where he experimented with the use of ceramic. In 1958, he first exhibited these works at the Premium Spoleto. In the same year Ceroli held his first solo exhibition at Galleria San Sebastianello of Rome. During 1959 he began to experiment with new materials, particularly with raw wood, such as Russian pinewood. He used these materials to create silhouetted shapes in his furniture and objects that related simplistically to the surrounding space. In the 1960's Ceroli took part in exhibitions related to the "Arte de Povera" group. He had also been involved as screenplay director collaborating with "II Teatro Stabile" in Turin and with "La Scala" In Milan. He was part of the generation of Italian post war artists that included Aligliero Boetti, Lucio Fontana, Alberto Burri, Pino Pascali, Piero Manzoni, Enrico Castellani, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Mimmo Rotella, Emilio Vedova. One of Ceroli's major works was his 'Mobili nella Valle' series, inspired directly by the Giorgio De Chirico 1927 painting...