PIERO MANZONI

July 13th, 1933 – February 6th, 1963
Born in Soncino, Italy

Italian artist considered as one of the pioneers of Conceptual art. He began by painting traditional landscapes early in his career before turning to works made with impressions left by keys, scissors and other utensils which had been dipped in tar. Partly under the influence of Yves Klein and Burri, he started making in 1957 some of his best know works which consist of textured white paintings that he called Achromes. He was in close contact with the Gruppo Nucleare and founded in 1959-60 a short-lived review called Azimuth with Enrico Castellani and an avant-garde gallery in Milan, the Galleria Azimut. He became famous for his ironic approach to avant-garde art and his series of provocative artworks calling into question the nature of the art object such as signing the bodies of living people and making tins filled with his feces. His work has been the subject of numerous international exhibitions, including retrospectives at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and the Serpentine Gallery in London and is included in many prestigious public collections, including the MoMA in New York and the Tate Modern in London.