Bari, 1935 – Rome, 1968

Pino Pascali was a sculptor, set designer and performer, today considered one of the foremost exponents of Arte Povera.

Having followed his family to Albania between 1940 and 1941, and later moved to Polignano a Mare, Italy, before settling in Naples greatly influenced Pascali’ work, which brings together various symbols of Mediterranean culture, such as fields, the sea, land and animals).

From 1960 to 1964, Pascali created “new Dada” works, and in 1965, he exhibited at the Galleria Ferrari in Verona, where he was dubbed “Italian art’s rising star” alongside Mario Ceroli. That same year, he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome and attended Toti Scialoja’s set design class, after which Pascali began working as a stage designer, graphic designer and production designer for television, all the while experimenting with new and recycled materials for his own artistic endeavours.

In 1966, memories of the Albanian war inspired Pascali to create works around weapons, which he exhibited in Turin. That same year, he presented his Animals and Trophies and exhibited at the Troisième Exposition de Sculpture Contemporaine at the Rodin museum in Paris.

He was then invited to the Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Rome for the Aspetti dell’arte italiana contemporanea exhibition, and in 1967, he received the Fabbri prize at the Sixth San Marino Biennial, and presented Reconstruction de la Baleine at the Exhibition of Contemporary Italian Art in Tokyo and Kyoto.

The next year, he exhibited at the Galleria De Foscherari in Bologna, as part of the Arte Povera exhibition by Germano Celant.

The young artist’s work was later shown at the Galerie Jolas in Paris, the Extra Stadt Museum in Wiesbaden and at the 34th Venice Biennale in 1968, where he had a solo room and received the International prize for sculpture, definitively establishing Pascali as one of the the greatest artists of his generation.