Alberto Burri's Black Cellotex Series Premieres in New York at Luxembourg & Dayan

From March 8 to April 20, 2013, Luxembourg & Dayan in New York City presented Alberto Burri's complete 1986-87 series, Nero Cellotex, marking its first U.S. exhibition. All ten works, displayed at 64 East 77th Street, explored blackness through textured Celotex and Vinavil plastic, with surfaces ranging from deep gloss to dry frosted grey-black. Burri, known for his Sacchi series (1949-1960) using burlap sacks and non-art materials, shifted focus to Celotex itself in this late series, excavating and layering it to reveal sensory subtleties. The artist, a former Italian army doctor captured in 1944 and interned in Gainesville, Texas, began painting during his imprisonment. After the war, he returned to Rome, joined Gruppo Origine, and had his first solo show at Galleria La Margherita in 1947. His work influenced Arte Povera artists for its truth to materials, though Burri emphasized formal purity over personal associations. He is linked to art informel, with comparisons to Jean Dubuffet's art brut and Kurt Schwitters' Merzbau. Burri's later Cretti series simplified textures, culminating in the 1980s earthwork Grande Cretto, which buried the earthquake-ruined town of Gibellina, Sicily, in white concrete. The Burri Foundation in Città di Castello, Perugia, Italy, preserves his legacy. Richard Artschwager, who shared a similar background with Burri, also used Celotex but with different aesthetic outcomes.