Arnaldo Pomodoro is dead, his art as a labyrinth

Arnaldo Pomodoro was one of the greatest contemporary Italian artists, the most recognizable, the most popular also for the diffusion of his works in the squares of the world, and a presence of such rare value in the Italian panorama of public art. His sphere is undoubtedly iconic, because it somehow summarizes the synthesis of his entire work: shining metal capable of resisting time, like that of his jewels, and hidden inside a fragile universe of overlapping worlds, almost mechanical, and undoubtedly dark, which are reflected in his obelisks, in the discs, in the stage machines, in his labyrinths.

''Art is a labyrinth'', said the artist, whose works today mark their presence in places such as the Cortile della Pigna of the Vatican Museums, the United Nations Palace in New York or the main entrance of the Farnesina in Rome or the Sfera Grande on the seafront of Pesaro, now part of the city's identity.

Arnaldo Pomodoro, older brother of Giorgio 'Gio' Pomodoro, also a sculptor (who passed away in 2002), died on Sunday night in his Milanese home on the eve of his 99th birthday, as announced by the Foundation that bears his name.

He was in fact born on June 23, 1926 in Morciano di Romagna and had initially studied as a surveyor to soon discover his passion for metal. A goldsmith at first, it was in the 1950s that he created the first large forms after moving to Milan in 1954 when he began to weave his relief sign patterns creating visual situations on the border between two-dimensional and three-dimensional. "For me - the artist, already over ninety years old, had said - it was a very busy period of intellectual exchanges". With Lucio Fontana and others he founded the Continuità group to begin a production that marked the history of art and beyond.

Today his works are exhibited all over the world. The last major exhibition in 2023 in collaboration with Fendi, at the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, a fashion house that had also chosen one of his most significant environmental works, Entrata nel labirinto, for the headquarters in Via Solari in Milan. From the first bas-reliefs his work takes shape with the Colonna del viaggiatore (1962), works that always take on meanings of great power such as Disco Solare (1991), donated to Russia and placed in Moscow during the post-Soviet thaw; or the bronze portal of the Cathedral of Cefalù (1998), or the sacred furnishings in the church of Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo, in collaboration with the archistar Renzo Piano.

Pomodoro's art is total, and ranges, with always significant results, also in other fields up to environmental works, such as the cemetery of Urbino. In 1982 the first scenography for Rossini's Semiramide at the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome that inaugurated the season consigning the staging to history precisely for the artist's wooden scenes. Love for the theater that marks his career, with some emblematic moments, such as that of the stage machinery created for the Orestiadi of Gibellina, with the Orestea by Emilio Isgrò in 1985. Or again Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex in Siena with the enormous eye that dazzled the audience. The passion for the goldsmith's art with which he had debuted and with which he never completely abandoned, for example with the creation of the beautiful glove-sculpture for Ornella Vanoni, who for the launch of Uomini wore a technological dress designed by Versace. The union with fashion was also one of the characteristics of his art, up until the great exhibition that Fendi dedicated to him.

The Arnaldo Pomodoro Foundation ''will continue to operate according to the founder's will, ensuring the conservation and enhancement of his work, committing to spreading its material and immaterial heritage through the creation of exhibitions, events and initiatives in an inventive, almost experimental space of study and comparison on the themes of art and sculpture, which aims at a deep and global involvement with people and society. We will all miss you Arnaldo and we will treasure your teachings'', writes Carlotta Montebello, general director of the Foundation.

Many comments and memories for the passing of the master, starting from that of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella: "The passing of Arnaldo Pomodoro, a multifaceted and brilliant artist, leaves a great void in the world of art. His impressive works, exhibited in the most important museums around the world, have left an indelible mark on the history of contemporary sculpture. I express the condolences of the Republic to his family and his students". The President of the Council Giorgia Meloni, entrusts her words to social media: "It is with deep regret that I learned of the passing of Arnaldo Pomodoro, a master of sculpture who sculpted the soul of Italy. His art brought prestige to Italian genius in the world. A heartfelt embrace and my deepest condolences to his family and loved ones". "With the passing of Arnaldo Pomodoro, Italy loses an undisputed and recognizable protagonist of contemporary sculpture", says the Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli.