Lot 610 D

Afro is counted among Italy's most important abstract artists. He receives decisive inspiration during his stay in America in the 1950s. Encouraged by the painting of abstract expressionism and the art of Arshile Gorkys, the artist develops his own dynamic style rich in contrasts. As a result, his compositions especially captivate with their accentuated design in colour.
“Afro […] illustrates the lyrical moment already in the structure of the painting, knowing that the perceptual act is composed of the correlation between the eye and the soul. The instant is captured in the indeterminacy of his art in which the passing moment and the rising emotion collide. Into this movement, comparable to the turning of the tides in its rhythm, the dimension of memory finally flows and the confusing actuality of the dream, burnt in the heat of the brightest light, rises from the ashes like the red-blue phoenix. The flapping of the wings, originating from a deep layer as it were, unite with the harmony of the painting process in a synthesis which is sudden and fulfilling at the same time.” (Maurizio Calvesi, Afro, in: Galerie Räber (ed.), Afro, exhib.cat. Galerie Räber ,Luzern 1965, p. 10)