Afro Basaldella biography

Afro Libio Basaldella was an Italian painter and one of the main exponents of Italian Informalism. He was born in Udine in 1912 to Leo Basaldella and Virginia Angeli. After the death of his father, who was also a painter and decorator, he completed his early studies in Florence and Venice, where he graduated in painting in 1931. Afro Basaldella's talent was soon recognized; in fact, in 1928, at the age of only sixteen, together with his brothers Mirko and Dino, he exhibited at the I Mostra della Scuola Friulana d’Avanguardia and the following year at the XX Esposizione dell'Artwork Bevilacqua La Masa in Venice.

In 1930, thanks to a scholarship received from the Fondazione Artistica Marangoni of Udine, which was awarded to promote and support young local artists, Afro Basaldella, along with his brother Dino, went to Rome where he had the opportunity to come into contact with the artistic environment of the capital. It was here that he met artists Scipione, Mario Mafai, and Corrado Cagli and became part of the Scuola Romana. From 1931, he began participating in various Mostre Sindacali. In 1932, he spent a period in Milan with his brother Mirko, starting to frequent the studio of Arturo Martini and came into contact with artists like Renato Birolli and Ennio Morlotti. In 1933, Basaldella exhibited at the Galleria del Milione in Milan, along with artists Bosisio, Pittino, and Taiuti. In the same year, he also exhibited at the I Mostra del Sindacato Nazionale Fascista di Belle Arti in Florence. In 1935, he participated in the Quadriennale di Roma. In 1936, he participated in the Biennale di Venezia, where he also exhibited in 1940 and 1942. In 1936 and 1937, his first solo exhibitions were held at the Galleria Cometa in Rome. Also in 1937, in collaboration with Cagli, he worked on the decorations for the Esposizione Internazionale in Paris. In 1939, he participated in the Terza Quadriennale in Rome. From 1941, Afro Basaldella began teaching mosaic at the Accademia delle belle arti di Venezia.

In the post-war period, after his experience at the Scuola Romana, Afro Basaldella approached Neocubism. In 1950, he traveled to the United States, specifically to New York, where, thanks to the introduction by his friend Corrado Cagli, he began a twenty-year collaboration with the Catherine Viviano Gallery. During this period, Basaldella was fascinated and influenced by the cultural climate and artistic movements of the time. These experiences would profoundly influence the Artist, who would reinterpret them in a personal way, ultimately leading him towards abstraction. In 1952, he became a member of the Gruppo degli Otto and participated with them in the XXVI Venice Biennale. In the following edition, Lionello Venturi dedicated a critical essay to Afro Basaldella. In this essay, Venturi highlighted many of the artist's qualities, such as technical skill, precision, passion for painting, and natural elegance. In 1955, he was among the artists exhibiting in the traveling exhibition in the United States, The New Decade: 22 European Painters and Sculptors, and his works were included in the first edition of Documenta I in Kassel.

In the mid-1950s, the art of Afro Basaldella had gained recognition and fame, especially at an international level. Recognition from his homeland was not long in coming. In fact, in 1955 he became part of the invitation committee for the VII Quadriennale di Roma. The turning point, however, was in 1956 when he won the award for best Italian artist at the Biennale di Venezia. In 1957, Afro Basaldella taught at Mills College in Oakland, California. Additionally, there were several exhibitions held in this state during his stay. In 1958, he was commissioned to create a mural for the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The artwork is titled The Garden of Hope. Alongside him, artists Karel Appel, Jean Arp, Alexander Calder, Roberto Matta, Joan Mirò, Henry Moore, Pablo Picasso, and Rufino Tamayo also worked on the decoration of the new UNESCO building in Paris. Between 1959 and 1960, he participated in Documenta II in Kassel and won the award for Italy at the Solomon R. Guggenheim in New York. The Guggenheim purchased his painting Night Flight from 1957.

In 1961, the curator of the Guggenheim Museum in New York, J. J. Sweeney, dedicated a splendid monograph to him. In 1966, he began teaching at the New College of the Fine Arts Institute in Sarasota, Florida. From 1968 to 1973, he taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. In 1967, Afro Basaldella suffered a severe loss, the death of his brother Mirko. From the early seventies, Basaldella began to experience health problems. His later years were marked by an intensification of his graphic artwork and a decrease in both painting and exhibition activities. In 1971, Afro Basaldella won the President of the Republic's award for the Academy of S. Luca. In this year, he held several exhibitions both in Italy and abroad. The main countries hosting his exhibitions were Paris, New York, and Germany. Afro Basaldella died in Zurich in 1976.