Italo Valenti 1912 - 1995

Born 1912 in Milan, Valenti studied at the Brera Academy in Milan 1932-37. His early works were highly colourful narrative paintings based upon dreams and childhood memories. His works of the 1950s gradually became less highly charged and increasingly abstract. From 1959 onwards, Valenti concentrated on making collage. Italo Valenti died in Switzerland in 1995.

works in the collection - 1

PAC/088

Valenti's accent on materials, surface and informality is characteristically Taschist, but also has parallels in post-war Italian art, particularly Arte Povera. This work was made in 1962 when Valenti was living close to Nicholson, Arp and Bissier in Locarno, Switzerland.

Collage, 1962