Italian sculptor Eliseo Mattiacci dies at 79
Eliseo Mattiacci, an Italian artist celebrated for his metal sculptures inspired by cosmic themes, passed away at the age of 79 on August 26, 2019, in Pesaro. He was born in Cagli in 1940 and relocated to Rome during the mid-1960s, where he showcased his work at La Tartaruga and unveiled a 150-meter nickel-plated iron tube in 1967. With the backing of gallerist Alexandre Jolas, he became involved in the Arte Povera movement. In the 1970s, he produced works centered on the human body, such as Radiografia ossea del proprio corpo (1971). The 1972 Venice Biennale featured a dedicated room for him. His later years were marked by large-scale metal sculptures. He received the Fujisankei Hakone Open Air Museum Biennale award in 1995 and the Antonio Feltrinelli Prize in 2008. His last exhibition concluded in July 2019. He is survived by his wife, Silvia, and daughter, Cornelia.
Key facts
- Eliseo Mattiacci died on August 26, 2019, in Pesaro after a long illness.
- He was born in Cagli, Pesaro, in 1940.
- He moved to Rome in the mid-1960s and began exhibiting at Galleria La Tartaruga.
- In 1967, he created a 150-meter articulated nickel-plated iron tube painted 'Agip yellow'.
- The tube was shown at Im-Spazio at Galleria La Bertesca in Genoa, curated by Germano Celant.
- He was associated with Arte Povera but maintained an independent practice.
- Galleria L'Attico and gallerist Alexandre Jolas supported his career.
- He exhibited in Paris and New York thanks to Jolas.
- In 1971, he presented Radiografia ossea del proprio corpo at Galleria Franco Toselli in Milan.
- The 1972 Venice Biennale dedicated a room to his work.
- From the 1980s, he focused on large-scale metal sculptures inspired by the cosmos.
- Critic Bruno Corà called his works 'spatial-cosmic-astronomical'.
- Carro solare del Montefeltro was shown in 1986 at Galleria Franca Mancini in Pesaro.
- He had a solo room at the 1988 Venice Biennale.
- He won first prize at the Fujisankei Hakone Open Air Museum Biennale in Tokyo in 1995.
- He received the Antonio Feltrinelli Prize for Sculpture from the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome in 2008.
- The Mart in Rovereto held a retrospective in 2017 curated by Gianfranco Maraniello.
- Environmental works were shown at Forte Belvedere in Florence in 2018.
- His final exhibition, Incontro a Palazzo, ended in July 2019 at Palazzo Ducale in Urbino.
- He is survived by his wife Silvia and daughter Cornelia, a curator at Fondazione Prada.
Entities
Artists
- Eliseo Mattiacci
- Pino Pascali
- Enzo Cucchi
- Icaro
- Carboni
- Termini
- Jannis Kounellis
- Claudio Cintoli
- Maurizio Mochetti
- Cornelia Mattiacci
- Gianfranco Maraniello
- Sergio Risaliti
- Ludovico Pratesi
Institutions
- Fondazione Prada
- Galleria La Tartaruga
- Galleria La Bertesca
- L'Attico
- Galleria Franco Toselli
- Galleria Franca Mancini
- Biennale di Venezia
- Mart di Rovereto
- Forte Belvedere
- Palazzo Ducale di Urbino
- Galleria Nazionale delle Marche
- Fujisankei Hakone Open Air Museum
- Accademia dei Lincei
- Galleria L'Attico
- Centro Arti Visive Pescheria
- Mart (Museo di arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto)
- Artribune
Locations
- Pesaro
- Italy
- Cagli
- Rome
- Genoa
- Paris
- New York
- Milan
- Venice
- Rovereto
- Florence
- Urbino
- Tokyo
- Japan