Alberto Burri, Mazzoleni London

Alberto Burri's story is a fascinating one, which finds a young doctor go from a prisoner of war camp to international celebrity. Now, the famous Italian art gallery Mazzoleni, which set up shop in London only last year, celebrates his radical work in a brand new Alberto Burri exhibition.

Alberto Burri biography

When Italy entered World War II, the tropical medicine doctor Alberto Burri was called up for service in Libya where he was captured and placed in a prisoner of war camp in deepest Texas, USA. For Burri it was a painful experience, which forever changed his Fascist political views and inspired him to start making art.

Alberto Burri art & career

With limited materials available, Alberto Burri paintings used whatever was close to hand to reflect the violent world, including the desert surrounding the prison camp which he could glimpse. Unconventional materials like burlap, wood and tar stitched together have made Burri one of the most important artists of the 20th century, who invented an entirely new language in Post-War art. Arriving back in Rome in 1946, Burri continued to push the boundaries of conventional painting, taking the canvas to places no one could have imagined. 

Catch this revolutionary artist and his extraordinary works at Mazzoleni for a dose of trailblazing contemporary art this autumn.