Introduction

Carla Accardi’s inventive and energetic work earned her a place in the history of Italian abstract painting. Carla Accardi was a Sicilian artist who was born on October 9, 1924. Throughout her career, she relentlessly pursued abstraction and was committed to pushing the frontiers of artistic expression. She had a significant role in the Arte Informel and Arte Povera movements, helping to found Forma and Continuità, two significant art organisations.

Life and Background

Carla Accardi’s career as an artist got off to a solid start with traditional art. Prior to starting her artistic journey, she attended the Accademia di Bella Arti in Palermo and Florence. Her move to Rome in 1946 was a turning point in her career, and from that moment on she would significantly influence the development of Italian abstract painting.Carla Accardi co-founded the revolutionary art collective Forma in 1947 with other artists like Pietro Consagra, Ugo Attardi, Antonio Sanfilippo, Giulio Turcato, Piero Dorazio, Achille Perilli, and Mino Guerrini. This group, which was heavily influenced by futurism, was crucial to the growth of the movimento arte concreta.

Carla Accardi - Biography | Natalie Seroussi — Carla Accardi Courtesy: Natalie Seroussi

Early works by Accardi tended to be self-portraits, but her relocation to Rome made room for more daring artistic endeavours. In the 1960s, she started painting in black and white, which represented a new phase in her artistic development. Her “Integrazione series,” an arresting investigation of monochrome, colour, and shapes, was inspired by her trips to Paris and the works of painters like Alberto Magnelli and Hans Hartung.

During this time, Accardi’s imagination was unrestricted. With pieces like “Stella” and “II Stella” (Star I and II), she made the switch from black and white to embracing vivid and vibrant colours. She even experimented with a clear plastic material called Sicofoil, which she used to make “Tenda,” or tents decorated with painted figures, in an effort to defy accepted artistic rules. This represented a notable departure from conventional canvas painting and reflected her desire to overcome the limitations of the canvas. The late 1970s saw yet another change in Accardi’s artistry. In 1970, she teamed up with the critic for art Carla Lonzi to co-found Rivolta femminile, one of Italy’s first feminist organisations and publishing companies. She joined the feminist movement at this point.

The impact of Carla Accardi went well beyond Italy’s boundaries. Her artwork garnered recognition in France, where art critic Michel Tapie took a keen interest in her work. Her influence on the art world extended beyond her own lifetime as well. Her work had a huge impact on the Arte Povera movement in the late 1960s, and she is regarded as an important player in the Italian avant-garde. Carla Accardi’s outstanding collection of work, which includes works like “Bianco nero su turchese” (1960), “Azzurroviolarancio” (1962), “Bozetto Bronzo” (1964), and a wealth of other works that continue to inspire and enthral art aficionados all over the world, carries on her legacy. Her first solo exhibition in the country, which took place at MoMA PS1 in 2001, served as proof of her work’s ongoing influence.