Emilio Scanavino biography

Emilio Scanavino, born in Genoa in 1922, was an Italian painter and sculptor of great importance in international contemporary art. His life and artistic career were characterized by a profound cultural duality, influenced by both his father's theosophy and his mother's fervent Catholic faith, the latter element which contributed to shaping the internal conflict that is reflected in the artist's works. From his early years, Emilio Scanavino demonstrated a strong artistic aptitude and his passion for art led him to enroll at the Liceo Artistico Nicolò Barabino in Genoa in 1938, where he had the opportunity to meet Professor Mario Calonghi, a figure of considerable stimulus for his initial training.
In 1942, he exhibited his first works, characterized by landscapes and humble subjects, at the Salone Romano in Genoa, marking the beginning of his artistic career. In 1947, a trip to Paris marked a crucial moment in his stylistic evolution. During his stay in Paris, he met poets and artists, including Édouard Jaguer, Wols and Camille Bryen. The suggestions of Parisian post-cubism merge with Picasso's lessons and contemporary abstract experiences, giving rise to a personal style that will characterize his subsequent production.
Emilio Scanavino's artistic research further developed during the 1950s, culminating in works in which the "node" becomes the protagonist, a stylized sign that gives life to rhythmic stories and suggestive atmospheres . His painting becomes an expression of interiority with all its torments, transmitting a sense of suspension in time and of presences evoked in the shadow of the studio or in the nature of Calice Ligure, where the artist will move the his atelier later.
The meeting with the art dealer Carlo Cardazzo, in 1952, represents an important step in the artist's career, consolidating his role in international contemporary art and opening the doors to new exhibition opportunities. Furthermore, the friendship and working relationship with the dealer allows the artist to experiment and further explore the dialogue between painting, sculpture and ceramics. Participation in the Venice Biennials and important awards contribute to consolidating Scanavino's fame both in Italy and abroad.
In 1963, however, a tragedy deeply affected Emilio Scanavino, the sudden death of Carlo Cardazzo, his friend and supporter. Despite this loss, the art dealer's work is continued by his brother, Renato Cardazzo, who contributes to increasing the artist's notoriety.
In the following years, Emilo Scanavino's artistic research is oriented towards a simplification of the sign, with geometric shapes and grids that anticipate a reflection on the objectification of painting. In this period the artist settled in his home in Calice Ligure, where other artists also settled and formed a small creative community around him.
In 1971, together with the sculptor Alik Cavaliere, he created the work-installation "Homage to Latin America" on the occasion of the Sao Paulo Biennial in Brazil. The work, composed of painted panels with inserts of bronze, silver and aluminum sculptures, was censored for its political content and subsequently exhibited at the Museo della Permanente in Milan after a restoration work in 2003.
His artistic production throughout the Seventies is characterized by an ever greater simplification of the sign, culminating in works with grids and geometric architectures. His painting continues to evolve, testifying to constant research and intense exhibition activity both in Italy and abroad. Emilio Scanavino's artistic career ended in 1986 with his death in Milan. His artistic legacy and his ability to express human interiority with his distinctive sign of the "knot" remain today witnesses of an eclectic artist of great importance in the artistic scene of the twentieth century. His work, difficult to place in a specific current, developed between informal abstractionism, abstract expressionism and the artistic research of figures such as Hans Hartung and Georges Mathieu, leaving an indelible mark in the history of art.