Sergio Sarri's Pop Art and German Modernism at Viareggio
A solo exhibition titled 'Space Ballet' by Italian Pop Art pioneer Sergio Sarri (born Turin, 1938) is on view in Viareggio. Sarri's work merges cinematic perspectives with comic strips, drawing on German modernist influences from the Bauhaus, particularly Oskar Schlemmer's 1922 'Triadisches Ballett'. Unlike American Pop Art's materialism, Sarri's style aligns with British psychedelia of Peter Blake, infused with Apollonian and Dionysian spirit. His paintings critique the 'society of the spectacle', depicting Italy's consumerist culture of aperitifs, designer clothes, and casual sex, as well as a squalid future referenced through David Onica's 1980s fame and Pier Vittorio Tondelli's desperate narratives. The exhibition includes the triptych 'Space Ballet' and works like 'L'uomo e il cane' (1967) and 'L'oscuro oggetto del desiderio', exploring themes of violence and abjection in sexuality. The show runs in Viareggio, organized by Artribune.
Key facts
- Sergio Sarri was born in Turin in 1938.
- The exhibition is titled 'Space Ballet'.
- Sarri is a protagonist of Italian Pop Art.
- His work references Oskar Schlemmer's 'Triadisches Ballett' from 1922.
- Sarri's Pop Art is compared to British artist Peter Blake.
- The exhibition includes the triptych 'Space Ballet' and works like 'L'uomo e il cane' (1967) and 'L'oscuro oggetto del desiderio'.
- The show critiques the 'society of the spectacle' and Italian consumerist culture.
- The exhibition is held in Viareggio.
Entities
Artists
- Sergio Sarri
- Oskar Schlemmer
- Peter Blake
- David Onica
- Pier Vittorio Tondelli
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Institutions
- Bauhaus
- Artribune
Locations
- Turin
- Italy
- Viareggio
- Germany
- Weimar
- United Kingdom
- United States