Louise Nevelson : Terracottas and ceramics (1900 - 1988) | MIC Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche, Faenza | produced by Fondazione Calarota with the support of Galleria d'Arte Maggiore g.a.m.

The exhibition dedicated to Louise Nevelson held in 1997 at the Museum of Ceramics in Faenza offers an extraordinary opportunity to delve into the fascinating artistic journey of this renowned artist. Through a carefully curated selection of works spanning a crucial period of her artistic career from age 33 to 52, the exhibition guides us through a captivating exploration of Nevelson's artistry.

 

The methodology of the "shrimp," commonly adopted in the analysis of early works by artists who later achieve fame, proves inadequate here in fully comprehending the complexity and originality of Nevelson's works. The terracottas presented, although created in a period preceding her well-known assemblages of wooden elements, stand out distinctly for their expressive power and stylistic coherence, already suggesting a strong and mature artistic world.

In her early works, Nevelson demonstrates an extraordinary capacity for synthesis and a deep understanding of ceramic material as an expressive medium. The sculptures presented, characterized by powerful volumes and suggestive zoomorphic synthesis, reveal an artist still "European" in influences and artistic approach, yet already capable of expressing an original and distinctive artistic language.

 

The black color, used significantly in the exhibited works, assumes an important symbolic role, representing not only a current condition of mourning but also an ancestral substance that harkens back to primordial femininity. Nevelson challenges the artistic conventions of her time through a dialectic between mass and sign, allowing figures and faces to emerge with decisive purity within compact and immanent blocks.

 

The influence of Cubism emerges clearly in Nevelson's works, characterized by compact masses and a structure reminiscent of the essentializations of avant-garde artists of the second decade of the century. However, her art remains permeated by deep dramas and tensions, reflecting a crepuscular aesthetic laden with dark omens, even when infused with Mesoamerican fascinations.