Riccardo Guarneri Returns to Venice Biennale After 50 Years

Riccardo Guarneri, an Italian painter associated with analytical and aniconic art, returns to the Venice Biennale in 2017 after his first participation in 1966. Invited by curator Christine Macel, he presents six new works created with his signature technique on raw canvas, using watercolor and graphite. Guarneri, who began his career with figurative and informal painting, shifted in 1962 to light-colored works on white backgrounds inspired by a prismatic lamp. He describes his approach as 'slow consumption painting,' emphasizing ambiguity and geometry in crisis. Despite being sidelined during the Transavanguardia movement, he continued his research, supported by the Fondazione Zappettini. Guarneri cites influences from Rembrandt, Piero Dorazio, Cy Twombly, Gastone Novelli, and Lucio Fontana. He views his work as a form of revolution rooted in tradition, aligning with Paul Klee's ethos of painting as an absolute.