Pino Pinelli Retrospective at Palazzo Reale Traces His Evolution from Canvas to Sculpture

A retrospective of Pino Pinelli (born 1938, Catania) at Palazzo Reale in Milan, developed in close collaboration with the artist, reveals the normally hidden evolution of his work. The exhibition is divided into eight chapters, starting with his 1970s research on geometry and color, moving through his break from the canvas, and culminating in his current 'diffuse' sculptural painting. His early phase is surprisingly Pop-like, treating the canvas as an object with partitions, graphics, and color fields that deny pictorial effect, yet maintain subtle tonal variations that assert painting's persistence rather than its death. In the 1970s, Pinelli concretely broke the canvas boundary, creating multiple and shaped works that he never abandoned, using flannel and later a secret paste. His subsequent works, including oval, cross, and linear forms, are material and tactile yet strangely frozen, drawing viewers close to inspect texture before pushing them back for an overall view. At Gallerie d'Italia, the installation 'I cinque movimenti' intensifies spatial interaction with elements arranged on all four walls in musical variations (grave, andante, mosso, brio, adagio), accompanied by Bach's Prelude in C major BWV 846, creating a contrast between lightness of arrangement and corporeal nature.