Heinz Mack (Lollar, 1931) is one of the primary figures of the art of the second half of the 20th century as he is considered to be a radical and revolutionary artist, who from the 1950s to today has continued to renew his vision and expressivity.
In 1960, he was invited by Enrico Castellani and Piero Manzoni to host his first Italian solo show at the Galleria Azimut in Milan, followed by a second one in 1963 which took place at Galleria Cadario.
In 2019, Cortesi Gallery decided to dedicate an important retrospective to this artist with the aim of retracing his artistic development.
The show in Milan, curated by Francesca Pola in collaboration with the artist and his studio, has given major attention to the focus of Mack’s artistic reflection. Indeed, the works exhibited, dated between 1962 and 2018, explore Mack’s study of the relationship between light, colour, structure and space.
The exhibition in Lugano is thought as an ideal extension and continuation of the retrospective organised in Milan. However, this time the attention is particularly driven towards Mack’s most recent works, focusing on the pure colours of the “Chromatische Konstellationen” (chromatic constellations) – especially the ones dated 2018 – whose stratification, juxtaposition and gradation give to the surface of the canvas new and radiant tonal harmonies.
Mack’s lifelong artistic production has always been investigating the fundamental role that light plays as a constitutive factor of vision, creating a perspective that has radically changed the course of contemporary art. The dialogue between light and colour in relation to structure, vibration and rhythm represents the central factor of the continuation and metamorphosis of Mack’s work. It is these variations in the artist’ oeuvre that become the centre of the exhibition which intends to represent the “breath” of the light expressed as changes of surfaces and spaces.
