Roberto Crippa

ROBERTO CRIPPA (Monza, 1921-Bresso, 1972)
"Brooklyn Bridge", 1970s.
Amiantite and collage on board.
Signed and certified on the back.
Attached certificate on photograph of the artist issued by Rosangela Baggini.
It shows signs of non-active xylophages on the back.
Measurements: 100 x 81 cm; 104 x 85 cm (frame).

Realized in the seventies, "Brooklyn Bridge" is part of the Amiantiti series, one of the most characteristic material researches of Roberto Crippa's final stage. In these works the artist incorporates sheets of asbestos applied on board, exploring the structural and material possibilities of the pictorial surface and transforming the painting into an active space for experimentation.

The use of industrial materials responds to the approaches of Spatialism, a movement promoted by Lucio Fontana that proposed to overcome the traditional limits of painting by introducing new physical and conceptual dimensions.

Within this context, Crippa developed a personal language based on structural rhythms, dynamic energy and an expanded conception of pictorial space, where architecture, matter and abstraction are integrated in the same plastic research.

Roberto Crippa studied at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts with Aldo Carpi, Carlo Carrà and Achille Funi. After a first stage influenced by neo-cubism, he presented his first solo exhibition in 1947 at the Bergamini Gallery in Milan. In 1950 he became linked to Spatialism after becoming friends with Lucio Fontana, developing his famous abstract "Spirals". In 1951 he traveled to New York, where he met Max Ernst, Victor Brauner and Yves Tanguy and exhibited at Alexander Iolas' gallery.

Later he evolved towards polymaterial works and collage, participating in the 1956 Venice Biennale and in international exhibitions in Tokyo, Hiroshima, Amsterdam and Madrid.

In his later years he developed series such as the Amiantiti, as part of his research on matter and space.