Enrico Castellani, Italian pioneer of minimalism, dies at 87

Enrico Castellani, a leading figure in postwar European art and a pioneer of minimalism, has died. Born in Castelmassa, Rovigo, in 1930, he studied sculpture and architecture at the École Nationale Supérieure in Belgium before settling in Milan in 1957. There he befriended Piero Manzoni and other artists of the Zero group, co-founding the journal Azimuth. Castellani is best known for his "Superfici" (Surfaces)—canvases stretched over a grid of nails to create rhythmic protrusions, a technique he called "ripetizione differente." Donald Judd hailed him as the father of minimalism in a 1966 article. His work was featured in landmark exhibitions including The Responsive Eye at MoMA (1965), Vitalità del negativo at Palazzo delle Esposizioni (1970), and Identité italienne at Centre Pompidou (1981). In 2013, his painting Superficie bianca n. 34 (1966) sold for £1.8 million at Christie's London. That same year, Skira published a catalogue raisonné edited by Renata Wirz and Federico Sardella. Castellani received the Praemium Imperiale for painting from the Japan Art Association. Tributes poured in from artists Pier Paolo Calzolari and collector Maria Gloria Conti Bicocchi.