The present exhibition pays homage to the Italian gallerist and art dealer Carlo Cardazzo (1908-1963), and to two artists he particularly admired: Cy Twombly (1928-2011) and Tancredi Parmeggiani (1927-1964). Since the 1950s, Cardazzo exhibited and promoted their work at Galleria del Cavallino in Venice and Galleria del Naviglio in Milan. In 1953, both galleries hosted two solo shows dedicated to Tancredi, followed three years later by another solo exhibition at Galleria del Cavallino. In 1958, Cardazzo organised the second stage of Twombly’s first European solo show at both of his galleries and, in 1961, he presented another exhibition of the artist at Galleria del Naviglio.
Cardazzo was particularly fascinated by Tancredi and Twombly’s distinctive use of the sign. Through drawing and writing, Tancredi reduces the distance between the thought and the hand, producing a series of free graphic lines embedded with emotion. The use of the dot as a spatial element allows the painter to redesign nature, his main source of inspiration. Twombly’s gesture combines the immediacy of Abstract Expressionism with the power of graffiti, and enables the artist to express his fundamental, inner rhythm.
The display of works by Twombly and Tancredi evokes the dual line of research pursued by Cardazzo during the 1950s and 1960s, when the gallerist promoted non-figurative Italian art and Spatialism, along with American abstract art. A visual juxtaposition of works by the two artists draws attention to their common use of the sign and automatism, and reveals their shared delicate lyricism.
