Alberto Burri retrospective at Fondazione Ferrero spans 1945–1993

A major retrospective of Alberto Burri (1915–1995) is on view at the Fondazione Ferrero in Alba, Italy, with a satellite section at Banca d'Alba dedicated to his monumental land art piece, the Grande Cretto di Gibellina. Curated by Bruno Corà, president of Palazzo Albizzini Collezione Burri, the exhibition features 45 works across eight thematic-chronological rooms, covering Burri's evolution from early figurative paintings (including a rare Texas canvas made during his internment in an American POW camp) to his signature material abstractions using tar, burlap, plastic, metal, and combustion. Key works include Assemblage SZ1 (1948), made from a Marshall Plan sugar sack, and Grande Bianco (1952). The show traces his shift from mimesis to abstraction, his use of humble materials (jute sacks, wood veneers, soundproofing cellotex), and his poetic collaboration with poet Emilio Villa, who produced 17 variations of texts paired with Burri's unique works. The Grande Cretto di Gibellina, begun in 1985 and completed in 2015, covers 86,000 square meters of white concrete over the ruins of the Sicilian town destroyed by the 1968 Belice earthquake. The exhibition runs through 1993, offering a comprehensive view of Burri's radical, alchemical language that redefined postwar art.