Arnaldo Pomodoro | |
|---|---|
 Pomodoro inMilan, 1975 | |
| Born | (1926-06-23)23 June 1926 (age 98) |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Occupation | Sculptor |
| Years active | 1954—2005 |
| Notable work | Sphere Within Sphere |
| Relatives | Giò Pomodoro (brother) |
Arnaldo Pomodoro (born 23 June 1926) is an Italian sculptor. He was born inMorciano,Romagna, and lives and works inMilan. His brother,Giò Pomodoro (1930–2002) was also a sculptor.
Pomodoro designed a controversial fiberglass crucifix for theCathedral of St. John the Evangelist inMilwaukee, Wisconsin. The piece is topped with a four-and-a-half-meter diameter crown of thorns which hovers over the figure of Christ.
Some of Pomodoro'sSphere Within Sphere (Sfera con Sfera) can be seen in theVatican Museums,Trinity College, Dublin, theUnited Nations Headquarters andMt. Sinai Hospital in New York, theHirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.,Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, thede Young Museum in San Francisco,Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, American Republic Insurance Company in Des Moines, Iowa, the Columbus Museum of Art in Columbus, Ohio, theUniversity of California, Berkeley, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia, Stanford University, and the Tel Aviv University, Israel.
Arnaldo Pomodoro was born on 23 June 1926 inMorciano di Romagna,Montefeltro area. He received his diploma from the Technical Institute for Surveyors inRimini, and then worked at the Public Works Office in Pesaro. He developed an interest in art and scenography, and attended the Art Institute inPesaro.[1]: 205
In 1953, Pomodoro attended an exhibition ofPicasso which was held in Milan at thePalazzo Reale. This exhibition made a strong impression on him, and a year after he moved to Milan where he joined the artistic community and became friends withLucio Fontana, Dangelo, Sanesi, Baj, and others.[1]: 189 He took part in the 10thTriennale in Milan, and together with his brother Gio' he also participated in theVenice Biennale.[1]: 205
In 1959, Arnaldo Pomodoro received a grant to study American art, and traveled to the United States for the first time.[1]: 189 He describes his visit toMoMa and seeingBrancusi's sculptures as a strong inspiration for his work.[1]: 190 In San Francisco, he metMark Rothko who was teaching at theCalifornia School of Fine Arts. In New York Pomodoro metCostantino Nivola andEnrico Donati who introduced him to such artists asFranz Kline,Jasper Johns,Andy Warhol and others.[1]: 190 He also met sculptorsDavid Smith andLouise Nevelson, and organized an exhibitionNew Work from Italy, dedicated to Italian artists.[1]: 205
Later in 1960s, he developed a collaboration with theMarlborough Gallery in New York. In 1963, Pomodoro received the International Prize for Sculpture at the VIISão Paulo Biennale and also the National Prize for Sculpture at the XXXIIVenice Biennale in 1964.[1]: 205 In 1966, he became an artist in residence atStanford University, and then atUC Berkeley andMills College.[1]: 205 The following year he created theSfera grande for the Italian Pavilion at the Montreal Expo. This sculpture is now located in front of theFarnesina Palace inRome. That year Pomodoro won the International Prize for Sculpture from the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh.[1]: 205
In 1972, Arnaldo Pomodoro returned to set design, and worked on the playDas Käthchen von Heilbronn byHeinrich von Kleist, which was staged in Zurich. In 1984, he had a large retrospective exhibition at the Forte di Belvedere inFlorence.[1]: 205 In 1988, Pomodoro participated in theVenice Biennale as well as the international exhibition of sculpture at the World Expo inBrisbane. His workForme del Mito (Forms of Myth) which was displayed at the Expo, was later purchased byBrisbane City Council for the City ofBrisbane.
In 1990, Arnaldo Pomodoro received thePraemium Imperiale for Sculpture from the Japan Art Association.[1]: 206
His workSfera con Sfera was installed in the Cortile della Pigna of theVatican Museums. In 1992, he was awarded an honorary degree in Literature byTrinity College in Dublin. The following year he was nominated the honorary member of theBrera Art Academy in Milan.[1]: 206
In 1995, theFondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro was created as a cultural and exhibition center dedicated to contemporary art. Originally conceived as a centre to document and archive the work of the artist, it opened an exhibition space in 2005, hosting exhibitions of prominent artists such asJannis Kounellis,Lucio Fontana andRobert Rauschenberg.[2]The director of Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro is Flaminio Gualdoni.
In 1996, Arnaldo Pomodoro was awarded the Knight of the Great Cross of the Italian Republic (Cavaliere di gran croce dell'Ordine al merito della Repubblica italiana).[1]: 206 His sculptureSfera con Sfera was installed in front of theUnited Nations building in New York City.
In 2014–15, Pomodoro finished one of his fundamental works –the Pietrarubbia Group, which was started in 1975.[1]: 206 He then explained the idea behind this project:[3]
"In the early 1970s, on the advice of some Pesaro friends, I visited Pietrarubbia, a small town in Montefeltro between the Marche and Romagna, which had been built, according to legend, in 980. At that time the village was almost completely abandoned. I realized that somehow it had to be born again: and how, if not through the participation of artists? I had to kick it off. So, I had the idea of dedicating one of my works to Pietrarubbia and I planned a series of sculptures as a cycle. The Pietrarubbia Group was born, a work "in progress", a space defined by a series of sculptures – in fact, a space that became all sculpture – in which certain values are given meaning, certain historical values, in the sense that history is always the same… In short, I would like that anyone who sees this work could read within it the very spirit that comes from the Middle Ages: the gate that rises, the drawbridge, the foundation, the gate that opens and closes and can also be seen as a negative and positive book…"
On Form and Movement:[1]: 199
According to me, sculpture must be projected into space in order to remove, as far as possible, the weight from the material and the work's fixed base. I have always tried to express movement as an intensification of a condition of imbalance in order to create a striking contrast to any stasis or any reached or predictable order.
— Arnaldo Pomodoro
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