Art Exhibition by Franco Costalonga "Revolution"

S. P. (May 26, 2016)

A solo exhibition of the Italian artist and kinetic and op art innovator Franco Costalonga at the GR gallery. On view, thirty of his works from the Seventies until today, including his best known series “Oggetti Cromocinetici”, “Riflex”, “Gradienti di Luminosità” and “Mokubi”.

The exhibition Revolution will focus on the artist's most kinetic works, powered by motors and illuminated by light bulbs, such as "Riflex" and "Oggetti Cromocinetici".

Kinetic art, or kineticism, is an international movement that refers to art of both real and
apparent motion. At its heart were artists who were fascinated by the possibilities of movement in art and its potential to create new and more interactive relationships with the viewer.

Kineticism went beyond the boundaries of the traditional, handcrafted, static object, engaging the viewer and encouraging the idea that the beauty of an object could be manifested through an optical illusion or a mechanical movement.

Still producing art to this day, Costalonga’s initial research was first aimed to the investigation of brightness gradients on kinetic objects. The artist’s main goal has always been to seamlessly combine of Art, Science and Technology; sub sequentially, with his chromo kinetic objects, he was finally able to cross the confinements of painting and create artwork that seamlessly blended elements of color, light architecture and sculpture.

About the artist: Franco Costalonga (b.Venice,1933). In 1965 he joined the Dialettica delle Tendenze group and started employing different materials in the attempt to create new surfaces that could generate three-dimensional forms. His research brought him to Bruno Munari‘s Sette-Veneto group (linked to Brescia’s Centro Operativo Sincron).

Costalonga was thus able to thoroughly develop his interest in kinetic and visual effects. In 1969 Peggy Guggenheim acquired for her collection Costalonga’s work Sphere, made of Perspex and chromium metal.

The artist has been the recipient of many awards for his work in the fields of furnishings and design and has taken part in many national and international art shows among which: the 1966 Quadriennale of Rome, the itinerant exhibition of The Arts Council of Great Britain, the 1970 Venice Biennale, the exhibition Grands et Jeunes d’aujourd’hui -Art cinetique Peinture-Sculpture at the Grand Palais of Paris in 1972, the Internationale Kunstmesse-Art5, Base in1974l.

In 1978 he founded the group Verifica 8+1, focusing on concrete and structural art. In the 1980s and 1990s he took part in several Venice Biennales. The artist currently lives in Venice.