Ugo Nespolo (1941) - Marilyn

Work by Ugo Nespolo

Technique: silkscreen printing on faesite (a high-quality wood).

Dimensions: 60 x 60 cm. (artwork only) and 74 x 74 cm. (framed version).

Year of creation: early 2000s
Translate to English. Return only the translation:

We are therefore faced with an important and highly regarded artist, and here I present a work that well represents his artistic style: a material screen print on faesite from the early 2000s, well framed like a photograph, a composition by Ugo Nespolo that, under a series of colors and geometric shapes, brings out the face of Marilyn Monroe. Dimensions 60 x 60 cm (just the artwork) and 74 x 74 cm (with frame), signed at the bottom right and numbered (17 / 99) at the bottom left.

It is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity and Provenance with a photo and the relevant stamp from the MorganArte Gallery in Nardò (Lecce / Italy).

The work will be shipped with Mail Boxes Etc. worldwide, and you will be immediately informed after shipping of the corresponding tracking number, which you can use at any time to locate your purchase.

Unmissable opportunity for art enthusiasts to acquire a work by Ugo Nespolo without spending a lot of money.

No content provided to translate.

Extended Biography

Her debut in the Italian art scene dates back to the 1960s, associated with Pop Art, future conceptual art, and poveristi (exhibitions at the Punto gallery by Remo Pastori in Turin, and Galleria Schwarz in Milan). Never strictly tied to a single movement, her work is immediately characterized by a pronounced ironic and transgressive imprint, along with a personal sense of fun that will always serve as a sort of signature style.

In the 1970s, Nespolo embraced a second means of expression, cinema, particularly experimental, artist cinema. The actors are artist friends, from Lucio Fontana to Enrico Baj to Michelangelo Pistoletto. His films have been the subject of extensive retrospectives by cultural institutions such as the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Philadelphia Museum of Modern Art, the Filmoteka Polska in Warsaw, and the Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna in Ferrara.

The 1970s represent a pivotal period for Nespolo: he wins the Bolaffi prize (1974), creates the Museum (1975-'76), a ten-meter-long painting that marks the beginning of an ongoing thread of reinterpretation, deconstruction, and reinvention of other artists' work. The piece is exhibited for the first time in 1976 at the Museo Progressivo d'Arte Contemporanea in Livorno. During the seventies, he also begins experimenting with techniques (embroidery, marquetry) and unconventional materials (alabaster, ebony, mother-of-pearl, ivory, porcelain, silver).

The birth of the Hat Tree, later mass-produced as a decorative element, occurs at this moment. The 1980s represent the heart of the 'American period': Ugo Nespolo spends part of the year in the States, and the streets, shop windows, and hamburger vendors of New York become the protagonists of his paintings. During these years, he also accumulates experience in the applied arts sector: Nespolo remains faithful to the dictum of the historic avant-gardes to 'bring art into life,' and he is convinced that the contemporary artist must cross the boundaries of the specific assigned by late Romantic clichés.

It is evidenced by the approximately fifty posters created for exhibitions and various events (among others, Azzurra, the Turin International Auto Show, the National Federation of Sailing), the 1986 Rai calendar, the set designs for the American staging (Stamford) of Busoni's Turandot, and Rai video bumpers (such as Indietro Tutta with Renzo Arbore). In 1986, Genoa celebrated the twenty years of Nespolo's artistic activity with the retrospective exhibition at Villa Croce, La Bella Insofferenza.

In 1990, the Municipality of Milan dedicated a major exhibition to him at Palazzo Reale. That same year, prestigious artistic collaborations included the advertising campaign for Campari, the scenography and costumes for Paisiello's Don Chisciotte at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, and an exhibition of ceramics—Nespolo's new interest—at the International Biennale of Ceramics and Antiquities at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Faenza.

In 1991, he participated in the International Ceramic Festival, Ceramic World Shigaraki, in Japan. The following year, the Borghi & C. Gallery in New York hosted 'A Fine Intolerance,' a solo exhibition of paintings and ceramics. In 1994, he had a solo cinematic exhibition promoted by the Valle d'Aosta Region at the Tour Fromage in Aosta.

The following year, Nespolo created sets and costumes for Donizetti's The Elixir of Love at the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome, as well as at the Paris Opera, Lausanne, Liège, and Metz. Also from 1995 are the retrospective Casa d'Arte Nespolo at the Palazzo della Permanente in Milan and the solo exhibition Pictura was installed in Bucharest, curated by the Romanian Ministry of Culture. In May 1996, the solo exhibition The Rooms of Art opened at the Promotrice delle Belle Arti in Turin, organized by the Piedmont Region.

A few months later, Ugo Nespolo took on the artistic direction of Richard-Ginori. In April 1997, the Museum of Fine Arts in La Valletta, Malta, dedicated a solo exhibition to him. A traveling exhibition in Latin America: it starts in Buenos Aires (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes), continues in Córdoba (Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Córdoba, Chateau Carreras), Mendoza (Museo Municipal de Arte Moderno de Mendoza), and Montevideo (Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales).