In March, 2009 the Gagosian gallery did a a retrospective of the Italian artist Piero Manzoni and the site Whitehot Magazine did an article about it written by Marco Antonino:
As new materials started being used the titles usually describe them: Left: Achrome, 1958-1959, Creased canvas and Kaolin 31 1/2 x 39 3/8 inches (80 x 100 cm), Courtesy Gagosian Gallery, NY Right: Achrome, 1961-1962, Artificial fiber 24 3/16 x 18 1/8 inches (61.5 x 46 cm), Courtesy Gagosian Gallery, NY Last century was very rich and is already part of the tradition of the art done today. Some movements and artists still shock and are not fully understood by many but with time things will be more clear. When compared with the art made along this century many things will be watched and appreciated in a different way."Still a relatively overlooked figure, Manzoni (especially in his later work) was pivotal for the development of Conceptualism. Initially inspired by Arte Informale and quickly developing Klein’s (as well as Duchamp’s) radical and irreverent transgressions in the direction of a greater interest for – and ability to imaginatively build upon – reality, Manzoni’s art defies easy categorizations and conventional labels.His first Achromes monochrome series, dating back to 1958 and extensively represented in the Gagosian exhibition, are still indebted to Arte Informale and in particular to Burri’s emotional surfaces in their attention to the plastic values of the support. The clay, caolin and gesso used on the immaculate canvases are stretched and allowed to form expressive wrinkles and cracks. Given the hyper-consistency of the series and the sheer quantity of canvases amassed in a single room I felt a little overwhelmed by the barricade of white, chalky canvases... but hey, we’re still at Gagosian, right?"
