Arnaldo Pomodoro

Sphere with Sphere (1983), Dublin

Arnaldo Pomodoro (born June 23, 1926 in Morciano di Romagna ) is an Italian sculptor . He has lived and worked in Milan since 1954 .

Life

From 1949 to 1951, Pomodoro studied stage design at the Pesaro Art Academy. He then designed sets and costumes and began to work as a goldsmith with his brother, the artist Giò Pomodoro .

In 1954, Giò and Arnaldo Pomodoro founded the 3 P group together with Giorgio Perfetti . After 1955, both brothers belonged to the artist group Continuità - together with Piero Dorazio, Gastone Novelli, Giulio Turcato, Tancredi, Achille Perilli and Lucio Fontana . In 1954 Pomodoro had his first solo exhibition in the Galleria Numero, Florence.

Between 1956 and 1959, Pomodoro traveled extensively to Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt am Main and Cologne. In 1959 he took part in documenta 2 in Kassel . In 1960 Pomodoro traveled to the United States for the first time, where he met the sculptor David Smith .

Between 1966 and 1968 he had a studio at Stanford University , Palo Alto, and a visiting professorship at the University of California at Berkeley . From 1980 to 1984 Pomodoro taught by invitation at Mills College , Oakland.

In 1995 Pomodoro founded the Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro in Milan. The foundation is not only dedicated to research on Pomodoro's oeuvre and its preservation, it is also dedicated to promoting contemporary sculpture and organizes exhibitions, especially on younger artists.

Awards

1963: International Sculpture Prize, São Paulo Biennale
1964: Prize for Sculpture, XXXII. Venice Biennale
1967: International Sculpture Prize, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh
1990: Praemium Imperiale for sculpture from the Japan Art Association, Tokyo
1992: Honorary Doctorate in Philology from Trinity College (Dublin)
1995: Gold Medal of Recognition from the Ministry of Cultural Treasures and Activities, Province of Milan
1996: Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
2005: Medaglia d'oro ai benemeriti della cultura e dell'arte
2008: Lifetime Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award from the International Sculpture Center
Honorary doctorate in architecture from the University of Ancona

plant

Pomodoro's work reflects both his work as a goldsmith and his interest in the technical age.

In addition to silver, iron, wood, concrete and gold, he mainly works with bronze . In the 1960s he developed his abstract design language, which includes spheres, discs, but also columns, cones and cuboids. In doing so, Pomodoro breaks open the shell of the geometric body, and an inner life becomes visible to the viewer.

Graphics have also been created since 1970. In addition to his work as a sculptor, Pomodoro also repeatedly worked as a set and costume designer for the Italian theater.

Works in public space (selection)

1953 Fecondazione , Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC
1960 Colonna del Viaggiatore , Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels
1964 Great homage to the technical age , Cologne Adult Education Center
1965 Colonna del Viaggiatore B , Eindhoven University of Technology
1965 Sphere No. 4 , Guggenheim Museum, New York
1965 Sphere No. 6 , Hirshhorn Museum, Washington
1967 Sfera grande , forecourt of the Italian Foreign Ministry, the “ Farnesina ”, Rome
1968 Grande Disco - Memorial for Georg Büchner in front of the Darmstadt State Theater in Darmstadt
1968/72 Rotante minore , MAGI '900 , Pieve di Cento (Italy)
1970 Rotante máximo IV , Museum of Fine Arts, Caracas
1971 Grande Disco , Gewerbemuseumsplatz, Nuremberg
1971 Rotante dal Foro Centrale , Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley
1972 Disco Grande , Milan
1979 Triad , Museum of Modern Art, Lugano; Triad , Turin; Triad , Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Garden, New York
1980 Sfera con sfera , Hakone Open Air Museum, Kanagawa
1983 Sfera con sfera , Trinity College, University of Dublin; Bronze columns and wall sculpture , Amaliehavn Park, Copenhagen
1984 Disco solare , Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow
1988 Forme del Mito , Brisbane
1990 Sfera con sfera , Rome, Vatican City, Cortile della Pigna; Papyrus per Darmstadt , Central Post Office Darmstadt
1991 Sfera con sfera , United Nations Plaza, New York
1994 Disco in forma di rosa del deserto N. 1 , Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids
1994 La Grande Prua , grave sculpture for Federico Fellini in the main cemetery in Rimini
1995 La freccia , UNESCO headquarters, Paris
Sfera Grande , Pesaro
1999 Asta cielare VI , A Forest of Sculptures - Simon Player Collection , Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt