Colin Gleadell points out that London is seeing a steady increase in the number of galleries featuring Italian Postwar art. Some of these are new outposts of Italian dealers. Others are international galleries with spaces in New York and London.
The common feature is bringing new familiar and obscure names to new prominence. Take, for example, Arnoldo Pomodoro whose work has bubbled along in day sales over the last half decade as interest was re-kindled:
- Tornabuoni Art, which opened in Albermarle Street last year, is giving London its first glimpse of the sculptures of Arnaldo Pomodoro since an exhibition at the Marlborough gallery in 1968.
- New York dealer Dominique Levy, who opened in London two years ago, has become the main transatlantic agent for Enrico Castellani, now in his mid-80s and attaining recognition as an historically significant artist.
- Turin’s Mazzoleni Art, which settled in Albermarle Street 18 months ago, is tackling the mercurial conceptual artist Piero Manzoni who died in 1963 aged just 30. Pale pleated canvases drenched in kaolin, which Manzoni called “Achromes”, have shot up in value.
- M+L, in Old Bond Street, by three Italian dealers specialising in post-war Italian art. Their first exhibition is for the relatively unknown Angelo Savelli. Before he died in 1995, most of Savelli’s works – predominantly white and abstract, using a variety of materials – were snapped up by the Prada Foundation; so they are rare on the market.
Art Sales: London’s international art scene (Telegraph)
