Ennio Tamburi on Minimalism, Ellsworth Kelly, and His Artistic Journey
Ennio Tamburi (b. 1936, Jesi) is an Italian painter whose work evolved toward a lyrical minimalism. In an interview, he recounts his artistic development, from his early exposure to art through his uncle Orfeo Tamburi in Rome and Paris, to his break with the politically engaged art scene of the 1950s–60s. He discovered Minimalism and Conceptual art, finding inspiration in Robert Barry, Donald Judd, James Turrell, and especially Ellsworth Kelly, whom he calls "my saint." Tamburi moved away from figurative painting, working with metals and neon, and later adopted watercolors on oriental paper, developing a personal dot-code. He spent long periods in Switzerland from the 1990s, where he refined his formal discipline. His recent work explores fluid, unfinished geometric forms. The interview was conducted in his Rome studio opposite the Arch of Janus.
Key facts
- Ennio Tamburi was born in Jesi in 1936.
- His uncle Orfeo Tamburi was a painter who introduced him to art.
- As a teenager, he visited Orfeo's atelier in via Sistina, Rome, meeting Curzio Malaparte and Ennio Flaiano.
- He traveled to Paris to visit his uncle and studied at the Louvre.
- In the 1950s, he was part of the PCI-linked art circuit but left it to avoid dependence on others' judgments.
- He discovered Minimalism and Conceptual art, citing Ellsworth Kelly as a key influence.
- He worked with metals and neon for sculptures.
- He was friends with Alighiero Boetti and Jannis Kounellis in Rome.
- Leo Castelli invited him to exhibit in New York after a show in Spoleto.
- He was influenced by Barnett Newman and Agnes Martin during his American experience.
- From the early 1990s, he spent long periods in Switzerland, where he adopted oriental papers and watercolors.
- He developed a personal dot-code to eliminate defined images.
- His recent work focuses on fluid, unfinished geometric forms.
- He worked as a set designer for films by Luchino Visconti and Roman Polanski.
Entities
Artists
- Ennio Tamburi
- Orfeo Tamburi
- Curzio Malaparte
- Ennio Flaiano
- Robert Barry
- Donald Judd
- James Turrell
- Ellsworth Kelly
- Alighiero Boetti
- Jannis Kounellis
- Barnett Newman
- Agnes Martin
- Luchino Visconti
- Roman Polanski
- Paul Cézanne
- Aldo Bandinelli
- Luca Arnaudo
Institutions
- Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna di Roma
- Louvre
- PCI (Italian Communist Party)
- Leo Castelli Gallery
- Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna
- Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
- LIART
- Artribune
- Non-Catholic Cemetery
Locations
- Jesi
- Italy
- Rome
- Paris
- France
- Gare de Lyon
- Louvre
- Opéra
- via Sistina
- Arch of Janus
- Spoleto
- New York
- United States
- Switzerland
- Zurich
- Ancona
- Milan
- Villa Borghese
- Pyramid of Cestius