Piero Dorazio, SENZA TITOLO (Untitled), 1996
Gouache on paper
21 x 28 cm (visible), 45 x 53.5 x 3.5 cm (framed)
Condition: Very good
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Piero Dorazio (Italian, 1927–2005) was an influential painter and a pioneering figure in Abstract Art and Optical Art. A co-founder of the Forma 1 movement in Rome in 1947, Dorazio sought to break away from traditional realist art by embracing geometric abstraction and pure colour theory. He studied architecture at the University of Rome, where he was exposed to modernist ideas, and later expanded his artistic knowledge with experiences in Paris, where he connected with avant-garde artists and absorbed influences from Cubism, Futurism, and Constructivism.
Dorazio’s work is characterized by his masterful use of vivid colour, dynamic lines, and intricate patterns that explore the interplay of light and movement. His paintings often feature layered, intersecting bands of colour that create an almost kaleidoscopic sense of depth and rhythm. Inspired by Kandinsky and Mondrian, Dorazio developed a style that is both methodical and expressive, with a focus on harmony, optical vibration, and spatial tension.
Throughout his career, Dorazio’s artistic philosophy emphasized the emotional power of abstract form and colour. His compositions reject narrative content, relying instead on the pure sensory experience of colour relationships and structural balance. His experiments with luminosity and perception made him a key figure in the development of Op Art and Colour Field painting, influencing artists across Europe and the United States.
Dorazio’s international success included exhibitions in major institutions such as the Guggenheim Museum and the Venice Biennale, where his works helped establish postwar abstraction in Italy as a force in contemporary art. He also contributed to art education as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. His legacy as a theorist, painter, and innovator remains integral to the study of modern and contemporary abstraction, celebrating the enduring vitality of colour and geometry in visual art.
This work is registered at the Archivio Piero Dorazio, Milan, under the no. 1996-003640-D224 and it is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by the Archivio Piero Dorazio, Milan, Italy.
(Photographed in January 2025)