“It was necessary to surpass Abstractionism, due to the inherent limitations of decorative elements that had become useless and tired; the various forms of Naturalism, eternally bound to imitation and the deflated Romantic passion, needed to be overcome as well. One also had to conquer the poetics and the rules as such, whether they were called Cubism or Futurism, Abstractionism or Neoplasticism: free imagination had to marry contemporaneity, without mortifications or prejudices.”

(Anton Giulio Ambrosini, Spatialism and Italian Painting of the 20th Century, 1953).

The Gracis Gallery is pleased to present, in collaboration with the Reve Art Gallery in Bologna, “Edmondo Bacci e lo Spazialismo veneziano.” The exhibition features approximately 30 works by Edmondo Bacci, Mario Deluigi, Ennio Finzi, Virgilio Guidi, Gino Morandis, Luciano Gaspari, Bruna Gasparini, Saverio Rampin, and Vinicio Vianello, some of which come from prestigious private collections in Venice.

The Spatialist movement, which was born with the Manifiesto Blanco (Argentina – 1946) by Lucio Fontana, finds fertile ground for diffusion in Veneto, as a response to Venice’s resistance to contemporaneity. The manifesto outlines the urgent needs of post-World War II artists who seek to transcend the principles that guided artistic creation before the significant break caused by wartime events, incorporating the dimensions of time and space into the work of art.

The Spatial artist looks beyond the dimension of the visible, turning their gaze towards the “elsewhere,” scrutinizing space and contemplating the absolute value of light and the molecular and particle-based elements that surround us but remain invisible. Scientific discoveries and nuclear physics have served as sources of impulses and stimuli for these artists. They aim to capture a new reality in their works, one that was previously unknown, embodying the idea of a tangible space made concrete through new technologies and space explorations. In 1947, upon his return to Milan, Fontana continues drafting subsequent manifestos to expand the movement’s goals, adapting artistic language to the achievements of scientific progress, a process that will culminate in his works transcending the boundaries of the two-dimensional canvas.

In those years, gallerist Carlo Cardazzo significantly contributed to the consolidation of the Milan-Venice axis. In Milan, with the Galleria del Naviglio, and in Venice, with the Galleria del Cavallino, he became a center for the dissemination of Spatialist thought. Other key figures connecting the two cities include Vinicio Vianello, who has been frequenting the Milanese capital since 1946, and Mario Deluigi, who inaugurated his solo exhibition at the Galleria del Naviglio in March 1947, where he came into contact with Anton Giulio Ambrosini.

In Venice, Spatialism became a collective space for developing prior research, fostering dialogue among different generations of artists, and resolving the debate between figurative and abstract art.

“To consider as real those spaces, that vision of universal matter, which science, philosophy, and art have nourished within the human spirit through knowledge and intuition”: so reads the 1951 Manifesto, in which the signatures of the “Venetians” Anton Giulio Ambrosini, Mario Deluigi, Virgilio Guidi, Berto Morucchio, and Vinicio Vianello appear for the first time.

Two years later, on the occasion of the Spaziale exhibition in the Hall of Mirrors at Ca’ Giustinian, Anton Giulio Ambrosini published Spatialism and Italian Painting of the 20th Century, a work to which Edmondo Bacci, Bruno De Toffoli, Tancredi, and Gino Morandis also contributed.

The Venetian artists present an approach markedly different from that of the Milanese, in an experience that, while attentive to the futuristic aspects of scientific and technological reality, instead reaffirms individual imaginative freedom. This freedom also translates into inclusivity, a distinctive feature that allowed many artists to participate in spatial experiments without necessarily signing its manifestos. Such was the case for Ennio Finzi, Bruna Gasparini, Luciano Gaspari, and Saverio Rampin, whose works in the exhibition align perfectly with the principles of spatialism.

The relationship between the Venetian movement and Fontana is “intimately dialectical,” as Crispolti described, but while Fontana transcended the pictorial dimension to go beyond the canvas space, the Venetian artists remained faithful to it, favoring the use of painterly materials. For Bacci, embracing spatialism coincided with his initial attempts at abstraction in Factories and Shipyards, works that reflect his sensitivity to social issues and simultaneously offer a pretext for exploring abstraction further. From 1954 onward, Bacci’s painting evolved, increasingly focused on capturing atmosphere: color expanded into light, the transition to abstraction was complete, and his work took on an explosive, detonating force.

The cessation of spatialism is generally dated to the end of 1958. However, by that time, the Venetian group remained vibrant, unified, and coherent around the idea of spatiality in the image as a place of relationships and continuous metamorphosis of vision.

Artists on Display

 Edmondo Bacci (Venice, July 21, 1913 – Venice, October 16, 1978)

From 1932 to 1937, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice under Ettore Tito and Virgilio Guidi. In 1945, he held his first solo exhibition at the Galleria del Cavallino, and three years later, he participated in the Venice Biennale for the first time. By the late 1940s, the industrial landscape of Marghera began to appear in his compositions: his Fabbriche (Factories) series marked his transition from figurative art to abstraction. The lights and fires of the blast furnaces sparked his experiments with light, which he would push to extremes in his Avvenimenti (Events) series. These works explored the possibility of distributing color differently within space, with the complete dissolution of form. In 1953, he participated in the Spatial Movement exhibition in Venice and subsequently became a regular exhibitor with the Spazialismo movement. During this period, he caught the attention of the collector Peggy Guggenheim, who became his patron and promoter, even introducing him overseas, where he held his first solo exhibition at the Seventy-Five Gallery in New York in 1955. In 1958, a dedicated room was presented to him at the Venice Biennale, followed by numerous international exhibitions. Starting in 1974, he held the position of Professor of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, a role he maintained until his passing in 1978.

Mario Deluigi (Treviso, June 21, 1901 – Dolo, May 27, 1978)

He trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, studying under Ettore Tito and Virgilio Guidi. In 1930, he exhibited for the first time at the Venice Biennale, and from 1942 to 1944, he served as an assistant to Arturo Martini at the Academy.

In 1944, he held his first solo exhibition at the Galleria del Cavallino, followed in 1947 by an exhibition at the Galleria del Naviglio in Milan. In 1946, alongside Carlo Scarpa and Anton Giulio Ambrosini, he co-founded the Scuola Libera di Arti Plastiche (Free School of Plastic Arts), and that same year, he was invited to teach set design at the University Institute of Architecture in Venice. In 1951, Deluigi signed the Manifesto of Spatial Art with Guidi and Vianello in Milan, and the following year, he co-signed the Manifesto of the Spatial Movement for Television (1952).

His involvement with Spazialismo coincided with his Amori (Loves) series, exhibited at the 1952 Venice Biennale, which he described as “a song of love for painting.” In 1951–1952, his exploration of expressive freedom led him to examine the physicality of space as connected to color and light. Between 1948 and 1950, he encountered Pollock’s work at Cardazzo’s gallery and the Correr Museum, inspiring him to experiment further with innovative techniques. This period saw the creation of his grattage series, Motivi sui vuoti (Motifs on Voids), showcased at the 1954 Venice Biennale, in which he used abrasion to create light, not by painting it, but by scraping away the surface material itself. During the 1960s and 1970s, Deluigi continued his research into light. He participated in numerous national and international exhibitions, including multiple Venice Biennales (1930, 1932, 1948, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1962, and 1968, the latter two with solo rooms) and the Rome Quadrennials of 1959 and 1972.

Ennio Finzi (Venice, 1931–2024)

He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice beginning in 1949 under Armando Pizzinato, while also enrolling at the conservatory. During this period, he began attending the Biennale Musica events and concerts at La Fenice, where he met the composer Bruno Maderna, who introduced him to contemporary music trends. Finzi’s early works, exhibited in group shows at the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation between 1948 and 1950, reveal his knowledge of historical avant-garde movements. His shift toward abstract forms was influenced by his interactions with Emilio Vedova and Tancredi. Finzi’s abstraction reflects his interest in contemporary music, including the work of Luigi Nono and Bruno Maderna. In his 1950s work, Finzi explored “dissonance” in form and color, drawing inspiration from the acid colors and neon lights of modern advertisements, which became the foundation for his analysis of tone and light.

In April 1956, Carlo Cardazzo included Finzi in a Cavallino Gallery exhibition featuring Venetian artists associated with the Spazialismo movement, such as Deluigi, Bacci, Morandi, Tancredi, and De Toffoli, along with artists Rampin, Matta, and Capogrossi. That same year, he also participated in an exhibition dedicated to Spazialismo on a global scale. However, Finzi resisted being confined to any strict artistic category and demonstrated a boundless eclecticism throughout his career, constantly experimenting with rhythm and color. In the 1960s, he became interested in theories of perception and principles of Optical Art, exploring optical illusions in his work. His paintings from this period project a calculated interplay of two forces: light and color. Finzi participated in the VIII and XIII Rome Quadrennials (1959 and 1999) and the XLII Venice Art Biennale in 1986.

Virgilio Guidi (Rome, April 4, 1891 – Venice, January 7, 1984)

An Italian painter and sculptor known for his exploration of light and space in visual arts, Guidi was originally from Rome but primarily active in Venice. He received academic training and initially worked in a traditional figurative style, gradually evolving toward more abstract and personal forms.

In the 1950s, Guidi came into contact with the Spazialismo movement, which shared his interest in exploring space and light not only as subjects of painting but as physical and dynamic elements. During this period, his works focused on synthesizing figure and space, with light becoming the central protagonist, creating tension between the visible and the invisible, between the material and the immaterial.

From the late 1940s onward, Guidi developed cycles of works with a highly spatial synthesis, such as his marine with grates, where objects nearly vanish under the light, edging toward abstraction. Other series, such as his Ancient Skies and Judgments, imbue space with emotional and symbolic connotations, making it a vehicle for profound expression and meaning.

Gino Morandis (Venice, 1915–1994)

Gino Morandis trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice under the guidance of Virgilio Guidi, later following him, along with Luciano Gaspari, to the Academy in Bologna in 1935.

While in Bologna, he also attended Giorgio Morandi’s classes, which deepened his understanding of Guidi’s teachings on light. His early painting experiences reflect the influences of these mentors, along with the impact of Georges Braque’s work, resulting in refined and delicate naturalistic compositions. He exhibited at the II Rome Quadrennial in 1935, but his career was interrupted in 1938 by military service until 1943, when he returned to Bologna to work as Guidi’s assistant.

By the late 1940s, Morandis was influenced by the cultural atmosphere in Bologna, marked by contrasting tendencies of realism and abstraction. In 1948, he exhibited at the first postwar edition of the Venice Biennale, followed by a solo exhibition in 1949 at the Galleria dello Scorpione in Trieste. In the 1950s, he aligned himself with the Spazialisti and was featured in their 1953 manifesto. His 1949-50 works, generally titled Composizione and numbered sequentially, already exhibit spatial themes, distinguished by an interplay of color planes where blended colors expand atmospherically through space.

Between 1954 and 1957, Morandis developed the concept of nucleus, portraying circular arrangements of dense, material forms in search of a primal quality within matter. This theme became significant in his later work, characterized by a fusion of color and space with vigorous textures and subtle gradations. Morandis participated in numerous national and international exhibitions, notably at multiple Venice Biennales (1936, 1948, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1958, 1962, and 1968, the latter with a dedicated room). 

Luciano Gaspari (Venice, 1913–2007)

Luciano Gaspari studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice under Virgilio Guidi and pursued an independent path, separate from the Spazialisti movement, although he later grew closer to its ideas through his connections with Edmondo Bacci and Gino Morandis. Despite his affinity with the group, he never signed any manifestos. Gaspari’s early work had a more traditional approach, influenced by Picasso. In 1943, he married the artist Bruna Gasparini and held his first exhibition at the Galleria Il Milione in Milan with Armando Pizzinato.

In the 1950s, his work shifted towards abstract informalism, marked by earthy textures and deep, brown tones, with light piercing through layers of a primal material. By the late 1950s and early 1960s, his paintings became more intricate, seen in cycles such as The Seasons and Germinations, which explored themes of growth and transformation. Gaspari also worked with glass, collaborating extensively with the Vetrerie Salviati, where he served as artistic director from 1955 to 1968. He held numerous solo exhibitions in major Italian and European galleries and participated in five editions of the Rome Quadrennial (1936, 1947, 1951, 1959, 1973) and eleven editions of the Venice Biennale (1936, 1938, 1940, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1968, and 1995).

Bruna Gasparini (Mantua, 1913 – Venice, 1998)

Bruna Gasparini moved to Venice at a young age, where she nurtured her passions for painting, music, and poetry. She was largely self-taught, drawing inspiration from Virgilio Guidi and Arturo Martini. In 1940, she exhibited at the Venice Biennale with a figurative work. She returned to the Biennale in 1948, 1950, and 1964, with a solo room curated by Carlo Scarpa. She also participated in the Rome Quadrennials in 1948 and 1955.

In the 1940s, her work was influenced by cubist analysis, retaining the chromatic essence of Braque. The 1950s marked a pivotal moment in Gasparini’s artistic journey, as she developed her own expressive language. She moved closer to abstraction and, through her close friendship with Gino Morandis, Edmondo Bacci, and Tancredi, participated in spatial events and experiences, though she maintained a more reserved role. Like her husband, Luciano Gaspari, she was part of the movement without openly aligning with it. In 1955, she held her first solo exhibition at the Bevilacqua La Masa Gallery in Venice, showcasing her deep exploration of space, light, sign, and color. Her interest in music seemed to guide her compositions during the 1950s, and in the same year, she exhibited Ritmi, Sonorità, Armonia at Bevilacqua La Masa, where the sign expanded within an almost monochromatic field. The overlapping signs in these works gradually gave way to the natural spread of color and light. Professor Barbero identifies two key aspects of her spatial period: one focused on the sound of light and vibrant colors, and the other on dark, subtly illuminated hues. Her works dedicated to the “Earth” are imbued with a twilight, lunar nature. This dialogue with the darkness became a distinctive feature of her output in the 1960s. In the 1970s, a trip to Sicily led her to discover a new, extreme light. In works such as Desideri di Mare and Giudecche, space is articulated through transparent chromatic fields. In 1996, the Casa del Mantegna held a solo exhibition featuring works from 1955 to 1995, introduced in the catalog by Luca Massimo Barbero, whose catalog remains the essential tool for understanding this extraordinary artist’s body of work.

Saverio Rampin (Stra, December 14, 1930 – Venice, January 1992)

Rampin studied between 1948 and 1949 under the guidance of Armando Pizzinato. In 1950, he participated in the 25th Venice Biennale, exhibiting the work Scuola di Pittura. The following year, he held his first solo exhibition, presented by Pizzinato at the Sandri Gallery in Venice. He came into contact with the Spatialists through the Cavallino Gallery, forming frequent associations with them, although, like Gaspari and Gasparini, he never signed any manifestos. His art, rooted in abstraction, is characterized by an important formal synthesis with a strong expressive charge. His forms convey an interest in the natural world and the generative force of nature, its growth giving rise to new creatures and dynamics. From 1953-55, his bright colors and the power of his gestures, which also serve as an emotional and existential representation of the natural world, align him with the action painting movement from overseas. His use of gestural, material painting further connects him to the dynamic, energetic styles of international postwar art.

Vinicio Vianello (Venice, 1923–1999)

Vianello studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice, graduating in 1945. In the following years, he spent brief periods in Milan, where he interacted with Albini and the architects of the BBPR studio. During this time, he came into contact with the newly formed Spatialist movement founded by Lucio Fontana, recognizing its expressive potential. Unlike other Spatialist artists, Vianello initially remained more traditionally focused on painting, while simultaneously developing an abstract approach, isolating a figurative core at the center of his compositional space. This led to an interest in representing a natural cosmos, which transitioned from Venetian views to astronomical and nuclear events. Professor Luca Massimo Barbero highlighted the key features of Vianello’s Spatialist language, which included the simultaneity of form and color in a cosmic circularity, alongside lines that unfold in space and references to nuclear explosions. Between 1950 and 1951, Vianello began creating grafie spaziali, intricate line arabesques on white paper. His spatial compositions, which he started experimenting with in 1950, were first exhibited in 1953 at Ca’ Giustiniani. For Vianello, Spatialism became a means to explore the technique of painting, pushing beyond traditional tools. He experimented with fluorescent paints and invented sprayers to create his Rockets, works that portrayed cosmic events where the artist used signs as the only trace of human action.

Vianello’s engagement with Spatialism extended beyond painting to a multidisciplinary approach, experimenting with innovative materials such as glass and neon. These elements were incorporated into works that integrated light and physical space. Among the many recognitions he received throughout his career, one notable achievement was winning the Premio La Rinascente Compasso d’Oro in 1957 for a glass vase design.