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Lot Essay
'The difficulty lies in freeing oneself from extraneous details and useless gestures; details and gestures that are polluting the customary art of our day'
(Manzoni, Art is not a true creation, pp. 76-77, in Celant, op.cit., 1998, p. 76).
Manzoni has achieved this freedom, creating an artform that is not hampered by associations with anything specific, but is instead a window into fundamental elements common to all humanity and to all creation: 'Art is not a matter of hedonism, but of bringing to light preconscious universal myths and reducing them to an image. Art therefore is not a descriptive phenomenon, but a scientific process of foundation' (Manzoni, Prolegomena for an Artistic Activity, op. cit., 1998, p. 69).
The present work, Achrome, was a gift from Piero Manzoni to his good friend and artist Walter Leblanc. In one of his letters to Walter Leblanc, Piero Manzoni describes the work he is offering to his friend, with whom he was sharing the same aspirations and point of view in art. Walter Leblanc was a member of the G58 group that lead him to the international Avant-garde and in particular the Zero group where he met with Otto Piene, Heinz Mack and Günther Uecker. Piero Manzoni and Walter Leblanc were part of the same generation of artists that established the foundation of Conceptual Art in 1960s. Achrome and the letter where Piero Manzoni describes his method show the interest of both artists for each others works and research.
(Manzoni, Art is not a true creation, pp. 76-77, in Celant, op.cit., 1998, p. 76).
Manzoni has achieved this freedom, creating an artform that is not hampered by associations with anything specific, but is instead a window into fundamental elements common to all humanity and to all creation: 'Art is not a matter of hedonism, but of bringing to light preconscious universal myths and reducing them to an image. Art therefore is not a descriptive phenomenon, but a scientific process of foundation' (Manzoni, Prolegomena for an Artistic Activity, op. cit., 1998, p. 69).
The present work, Achrome, was a gift from Piero Manzoni to his good friend and artist Walter Leblanc. In one of his letters to Walter Leblanc, Piero Manzoni describes the work he is offering to his friend, with whom he was sharing the same aspirations and point of view in art. Walter Leblanc was a member of the G58 group that lead him to the international Avant-garde and in particular the Zero group where he met with Otto Piene, Heinz Mack and Günther Uecker. Piero Manzoni and Walter Leblanc were part of the same generation of artists that established the foundation of Conceptual Art in 1960s. Achrome and the letter where Piero Manzoni describes his method show the interest of both artists for each others works and research.