EMILIO SCANAVINO WORKS

- EMILIO SCANAVINO ARTIST

Emilio Scanavino, born in Genoa in 1922, was a painter It is Italian sculptor of great importance in international contemporary art. His life and artistic career were characterized by a profound cultural duality, influenced both by his father's theosophy and by his maternal fervent Catholic faith, the latter element which helped shape the inner conflict which is reflected in the artist's works.

From the early years, Emilio Scanavino demonstrated a marked artistic aptitude and his passion for art led him to enroll at the Nicolò Barabino Artistic High School 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, al Roman Hall of 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 meets poets and artists, including Edward Jaguar, Wols It is Camille Bryen. The suggestions of Parisian post-cubism merge with Picasso's lesson and contemporary abstract experiences, giving rise to a personal style that will characterize his subsequent production.

Emilio Scanavino's artistic research developed further 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 over time and of presences evoked in the shadow of the studio or in the nature of Calice Ligure, where the artist will later move his studio.

The meeting with the art dealer Charles 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 merchant allows the artist to experiment and further explore the dialogue between painting, sculpture and ceramics. Participation in the Venice Biennials and important Awards help consolidate Scanavino's reputation both in Italy and abroad.

In 1963, however, a tragedy hit Emilio Scanavino deeply, the sudden death of Carlo Cardazzo, his friend and supporter. Despite this loss, the art dealer's work is carried on by his brother, Renato Cardazzo, which helps to increase the artist's notoriety.

In the following years, Emilo Scanavino's artistic research was oriented towards a simplification of the sign, with geometric shapes and grids that anticipate a reflection on theobjectification of painting. In this period the artist settled in his home in Calice Ligure, where other artists also established themselves, forming a small creative community around him.

In 1971, together with the sculptor Alik Cavaliere, carry out the work-installation "Tribute to Latin America" on the occasion of the São 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 Museum of the Permanent of Milan after a restoration work in 2003.

His artistic production along the seventies is characterized by a simplification always greater of the sign, culminating in works with grids and geometric architectures. His painting continues to evolve, testifying to constant research and an intense exhibition activity both in Italy and abroad. Emilio Scanavino's artistic career ended in 1986 with his death in Milan. His artistic heritage 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 twentieth century art scene. 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 on the history of art.