Bonalumi's Modular Sculpture to Debut at Art Basel Unlimited 2026

Mazzoleni gallery will present Agostino Bonalumi's monumental modular sculpture 'Struttura modulare bianca' (1970) at Art Basel Unlimited in 2026, marking the first time this rarely exhibited work will be shown at the fair. The sculpture was originally conceived for Bonalumi's solo room at the 35th Venice Biennale and represents a pivotal moment in his shift toward environmental art and 'object painting,' a term coined by critic Gillo Dorfles. The presentation, staged in collaboration with Archivio Bonalumi, coincides with Mazzoleni's 40th anniversary. Bonalumi is the only historic Italian artist featured in the Unlimited sector curated by Ruba Katrib. The work, made of white modular reliefs, creates a dynamic spatial experience that activates through viewer movement. Luigi and Davide Mazzoleni, whose family has a long history with the artist, will oversee the presentation. Bonalumi's practice evolved from his 1962 performance at Galleria Eidac in Milan, where he sculpted a white sheet with his body, to three-dimensional 'shaped canvases' developed after the 1967 exhibition 'Lo spazio dell'immagine' in Foligno, where he exhibited alongside Lucio Fontana, Enrico Castellani, and others. The sculpture's use of white removes distraction, allowing light, shadow, and form to take precedence, embodying what critic Roberto Sanesi called 'restless space.' The work was also shown at the 12th Biennale of Middelheim in Antwerp in 1973.