Lot 630: Ettore Colla (Italian, 1896-1968) Senza Titolo [Meridiana quadrata], 1968 Unsigned, inscri...

Ettore Colla (Italian, 1896-1968)

Senza Titolo [Meridiana quadrata], 1968
Unsigned, inscribed "E. COLLA" in marker beneath the base.
Iron, 28 1/2 x 20 x 8 1/2 in. (72.4 x 50.8 x 21.6 cm), on a white painted wooden plinth.
Condition: Good.

Provenance: Collection of Melvin B. Nessel, Boston, Massachusetts.

Literature: Giorgio De Marchis and Sandra Pinto, Colla, Roma: Bulzoni, 1972, no. 224 (illustrated).

Exhibitions: 24 Presenze, Artisti romani non figurativi, Roma, Istituto Italo-Latino-Americano (IILA), March 26 to April 9, 1969.

N.B. Colla's abstract work was considered by James Johnson Sweeney, the late director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, to be a contradiction in both classicism and 'primitive directness'. His works showed 'restraint and discipline' and 'dedication to order and form' but his technique and materials—which consisted of reclaiming and reconfiguring industrial materials—were handled with the 'respect a cave artist gave the casual materials of his day.' (1)

The raw innovation and balance that Sweeney spoke of can be seen in the present work, where the surfaces have been exposed to the elements, and the basic geometric forms of circle and square are repeated, rotated, and suspended in space. It was completed at the artist's home and studio at Viale Parioli, and is a larger version based on a prototype created in 1967. (2)

(1) Giorgio De Marchis and Sandra Pinto, Colla, Roma: Bulzoni, 1972, p. 9.
(2) Ibid, 106.