Nuvolo and Post-War Materiality: 1950-1965

Nuvolo and Post-War Materiality: 1950-1965 explores the life and work of the artist Nuvolo, born Giorgio Ascani (1926-2008) in Città di Castello, Perugia. In 1950, Nuvolo moved to Alberto Burri's studio in Rome, finding himself amidst a cultural shift in post-war Italy. This period was marked by a dynamic exchange between figuration and abstraction, driven by emerging artists and an influx of ideas from European and American artists such as Jean Fautrier, Antoni Tàpies, Franz Kline, Conrad Marca-Relli, Robert Rauschenberg, Salvatore Scarpitta, and Cy Twombly. Nuvolo was deeply engaged in this cultural milieu, collaborating with Ettore Colla and the experimental Gruppo Origine, as well as contributing to the magazine Arti Visive.

Nuvolo innovated within a two-dimensional, rectangular format common to easel painting by introducing techniques that emphasised tension and textural variation. He utilised a diverse range of materials, from ordinary textiles to deerskin. Notably, Nuvolo created an ambitious series titled "serotipie", leveraging a silkscreen technique for complex, repeatable drawings. His art received acclaim from poet Emilio Villa and support from gallerists such as Plinio De Martiis, Topazia Alliata, and Fiamma Vigo.

This publication serves as a catalog for the first major exhibition of Nuvolo's work in the United States, held at Di Donna Galleries in Fall 2017. It includes an insightful essay by Germano Celant and a comprehensive chronology of Nuvolo's artistic journey, framed within the non-figurative movement's trajectory in Italy, Europe, and the United States. The book is enriched with historical documentation and texts both by and about the artist. It also features a substantial collection of colour illustrations of Nuvolo's works from 1952 to 1965, with some images published for the first time.