Gianni Colombo, Milan 1937 - 1993 Milan
Introduction
A key figure in the development of Kinetic art in the 1950s and 1960s, Gianni Colombo worked in a diverse range of media, including painting, sculpture, furniture design, and light installation. A founder of the art movement Gruppo T, Colombo believed art must be dynamic and participatory, and aimed to create works and interactive spaces that eliminated static boundaries dividing painting, sculpture, and architecture. In 1968, Colombo won first prize at the Venice Biennale with Spazio Elastico (Elastic Space), an interactive piece in which viewers enter a darkened room and are confronted by a shifting cube of luminescent elastic strings. This would become his most famous work. Throughout his career, Colombo was interested in perception, specifically the perception of a reality understood in terms of continual change. In an age of cybernetics, systems theory, and feedback, Colombo approached art in terms of the interaction between objects and viewer in an ongoing feedback loop. Deploying simple mechanisms and materials, Colombo’s objects make a crucial point: art that thinks about contemporary technology need not fully embrace that technology.
Works
Exhibitions
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BEYOND CANVAS
Art Basel OVR: Italian Modern Artists Pushing the 'Fabric' of Tradition to its Limits, 4 - 6 Dec 2020VIRTUAL EXHIBITION Material experimentation, technical innovation, and conceptual invention are at the core of modern Italian art. Daring and pioneering figures including Carla Accardi, Alighiero...Read more -
GIANNI COLOMBO The Body and the Space 1959-1980
2 Oct - 20 Nov 2015ROBILANT+VOENA present the first solo exhibition of Gianni Colombo in the UK, organised with the Archivio Gianni Colombo. Curated by Francesca Pola and Marco Scotini,...Read more
News
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Event
Beyond Canvas: A Discussion between Paul Schimmel and Francesca Pola December 1, 2020In a dramatic rejection of the materials and methods of their predecessors, Italian modern artists moved away from traditional painted surfaces, discovering new worlds of...Read more -
Exhibition
First UK solo exhibition of Gianni Colombo at Robilant+Voena 2 October - 20 November 2015 September 8, 2015In October ROBILANT+VOENA will present the first solo exhibition of Gianni Colombo in London, organised with the Archivio Gianni Colombo. Curated by Francesca Pola and...Read more
Press
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Garage Italia
Lapo Elkann, Architectural Digest
December 5, 2017 -
Art Basel Miami Beach, successo per la prima edizione di Noah Horowitz
Silvia Anna Barrilà, Il Sole 24 Ore
December 7, 2015 -
Art News London: A Star is Re-Born
Cristina Ruiz, Vanity Fair
November 1, 2015 Once acclaimed for his groundbreaking practice, the Italian artist Gianni Colombo presaged the interactive art experiences favoured by today's museums... -
London Roundup
Orit Gat, Art Agenda
October 19, 2015 There’s another maze-like construction at Robilant+Voena, showing “The Body and the Space 1959–1980,” a large selection of works by Italian... -
Review of Gianni Colombo, The Body and the Space 1959-1980, Robilant + Voena
Daniel Barnes, Aesthetica Magazine
October 17, 2015 The centrepiece of the exhibition is Topoestesia – zone contigue (itinerario programmato) [Topoesthesia – Three Contiguous Zones (Programmed Itinerary)] (1965-70).... -
The Very Best of Frieze Masters
TextHarry Seymour, AnOther Magazine
October 16, 2015 As the good, the bad and the ugly of the art world descend on London for a plethora of fairs,... -
UN GIRO TRA LE GALLERIE BIG DEL CENTRO. DOVE SI PARLA ANCHE ITALIANO. IN VERSIONE MODERNA E CON UN'ECCEZIONE MOLTO CONTE
N/A, Exibart
October 16, 2015 Spicca la retrospettiva di Fontana con bellissimi pezzi e con cui Tornabuoni ha inaugurato la sede di Londra, poco più... -
L'arte italiana alla conquista di Londra nei giorni della Frieze Art Fair
Ludovica Sanfelice, Arte.it
October 15, 2015 Luxembourg e Dayan sceglie i giorni di Frieze, grande fiera dell’arte londinese, per inaugurare una nuova mostra dedicata ad Alighiero... -
Paul’s ART STUFF ON A TRAIN #131: ‘Noi Amiamo l’Italia’
Paul Carey-Kent, FAD Magazine
October 15, 2015 Two substantial presentations of artists in the kinetically-inclined Gruppo T: Robilant + Voena have two floor of founding member Gianni... -
ArtReview - Frieze week highlights, 15 October 2015
ArtReview
October 15, 2015 ArtReview selects ten shows to see this week in London -
Before Frieze Art Fair 2015
Carlotta Loverini Botta, Vogue Italia
October 13, 2015 Robiliant + Voena Gianni Colombo: The Body and the Space 1959 – 1980 (2/10 – 20/11) 38 Dover Street,... -
Gli opposti di Grazia Varisco a Mayfair
Nicol Degli Innocenti, Is Sole 24 Ore
October 2, 2015 La lettera del gruppo T stava a indicare il tempo come contenuto artistico, e Varisco, dopo gli studi all'Accademia di... -
Gianni Colombo at Robilant + Voena, London
AMA
October 1, 2015 Robilant + Voena, London will hold the first UK solo exhibition of the work of Gianni Colombo (1937-1993) entitled “The... -
Two Decades After His Death, Gianni Colombo Gets His Due
BRIDGET GLEESON, Artsy
September 29, 2015 “The Body and the Space 1959-1980,” curated by Francesca Pola and Marco Scotini, opens this week at ROBILANT+VOENA and for... -
FEBBRE DA FRIEZE. ECCO DIECI MOSTRE IMPERDIBILI A LONDRA DURANTE LA SETTIMANA DELLA FAMOSA FIERA BRITANNICA. CON DUE ITA
N/A, Exhibart
September 28, 2015 La galleria Robilant & Voena's Mayfair presenterà invece 'The Body and the Space' (dal 2 ottobre), la prima personale di... -
10 Must-See Gallery Shows in London During Frieze Week
Amah-Rose Abrams,, Artnet News
September 28, 2015 2. Gianni Colombo 'The Body and The Space' at Robilant & Voena Robilant & Voena's Mayfair gallery will be showing... -
Fontana and Burri take centre stage in London’s galleries
ERMANNO RIVETTI, The Art Newspaper
September 24, 2015 Robilant + Voena and the newly opened Cortesi gallery are promoting lesser-known Italian post-war artists this season. The former is... -
Art Basel’s Miami Beach show 2015
N/A, e-flux
September 15, 2015 Following the success of its debut last year, Survey—the sector dedicated to precise art-historical projects ranging from solo shows to... -
Gallery List Released for Art Basel Miami Beach 2015
N/A, ArtfixDaily
September 9, 2015 The galleries from Europe showing in Miami Beach for the first time are: Beck & Eggeling, Galerie Gregor Staiger, hunt...