Footnotes

This work is accompanied by a photo-certificate of authenticity signed by the artist.

Provenance
Galleria Dei Mille, Bergamo
Acquired directly from the above by the previous owner circa 1971
Thence by descent to the present owner

Literature
Joe Houston, Ugo Savardi and Bianca Maria Menichini, Marina Apollonio, Milan 2014, p. 61, illustrated in black and white



To engage with Struttura in Acciaio 6x6 from 1969 is not to merely stand, look, and consider. Rather one impulsively wanders around the sculpture, mesmerised by the regimented forms constantly shifting and morphing in unison depending on the viewer's position. On the surface, this is a technically humble artwork, yet the result could not be more enthralling.

As the title alludes, the present work is composed of thirty six stainless steel rings with highly polished and reflective exteriors, and bright scarlet enamelled interiors. These are stacked upon one other to form a column of six rings, with a total of six columns placed slightly out of synch from each other on the base, like a spring pulled in a diagonal direction. Of course, the positions of each element have been carefully scrutinised for the maximum optical effect on the viewer. As one moves slowly around the work, the rings take on a variety of shapes: thin outlines of circles, crescents, and solid barrels. The interplay between the mirrored chrome and deep enamel is exquisite, each reflecting off one another and keeping one's eye constantly busy trying to make sense of what exactly is taking place.

Struttura in Acciaio 6x6 is an archetypal example of Op Art, an artistic movement that started in Europe in the early 1960s, which venerated stark optical forms and illusions over expressionistic mark making. Artists were drawn to Op Art's democratic and unpretentious aesthetics - formulae, shapes, and ideals which could be easily decoded and understood by the public and even children - rather than the multi-layered, academic, and at times opaque Conceptualism which had become increasingly prevalent. Op artists also employed scientific frameworks in order to maximise the optical effects of their artworks, researching colour theory and the physiology and psychology of perception. This ethos can be felt reverberating through the present work, its wonderful optical effects resultant from an almost scientific level of detail and accuracy. Indeed, Marina Apollonio favoured a highly regimented, almost mathematical system for making her works. After choosing a primary shape, in this case a circle, the artist would study its structural possibilities so that she could make it active, constantly aiming for the maximum visual result whilst using the most minimal of means. Indeed the circle held special significance for the artist, and it was consistently the most important motif in her practice. Struttura in Acciaio 6x6 is a rare work and the first sculpture of this scale to appear on the market. Having been in the same family collection for more than thirty years, its freshness is astonishing.

Since bursting on to the scene in the 1960s, Marina Apollonio had an incredibly diverse output experimenting with painting, sculpture, kinetic art, and even weaving later on in her career. This cemented her position as one of the most influential artists in the Italian Post-War era. The work is now held in some of the most important public collections in the world including the New Museum, New York, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, MACBA, Buenos Aires, and the Museo d'Arte Moderna, Turin.