Carla Accardi – Bianco Rosso Viola, 1987
Details
Signed and dated lower left “Accardi 87”.
This energetic acrylic on canvas is a quintessential example of Carla Accardi’s rhythmic abstraction from the late 1980s. A founding member of the influential Forma 1 group, Accardi spent her career exploring the expressive potential of signs and calligraphic forms. In “Bianco Rosso Viola” (1987), she utilizes a sophisticated interlocking pattern of vibrant cerulean blue, deep magenta, and lavender-purple, all outlined in a warm orange. The forms appear to float over a raw, unprimed canvas ground, creating a fascinating tension between the industrial precision of the shapes and the organic texture of the support.
Accardi’s work from this period is celebrated for its musicality and “plastic rhythm.” By stripping away representational subject matter, she focuses on the pure vibration of color and the architectural strength of her signature “sign” language. This painting represents a mature synthesis of her earlier radical experiments with transparency and her lifelong devotion to the autonomy of color.
Provenance
Private collection, Viena, Austria;
Acquired from the above.
Condition
Excellent vintage condition; the paint layers are vibrant and securely bonded to the support; the raw canvas shows natural, uniform aging; unframed.
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Carla Accardi was one of the most significant figures in post-war Italian art and a pioneer of feminist art theory. Her work challenged the traditional boundaries of painting, moving from rigorous black-and-white structures in the 1950s to luminous, colorful experiments in the decades that followed.
Accardi’s influence is profound, with her works held in major international collections, including the Guggenheim Museum (New York), the Centre Pompidou (Paris), and the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna (Rome).