Afro Basaldella (1912 Udine, Italy – 1976 Zurich, Switzerland) is considered one of the most influential Italian artists of the post-war period, renowned for his lyrical form of abstraction and for his ability to synthesize European modernism with the artistic developments he encountered in the United States.
After completing his studies between Florence and Venice, Afro moved to Rome in 1930 thanks to a scholarship from the Marangoni Artistic Foundation. Early exposure to the cultural environments of Rome and Milan—where he collaborated with his brother Mirko and frequented Arturo Martini’s studio—brought him rapid recognition. He first exhibited at Galleria Il Milione in Milan in 1933, holding his debut solo exhibition there in 1935, the same year he participated in the Quadriennale in Rome and shortly before joining the Venice Biennale in 1936.
A pivotal moment in his career came in 1950, when Afro travelled to the United States and began a long-standing collaboration with the Catherine Viviano Gallery in New York. In 1952 he joined the Gruppo degli Otto, contributing to the renewal of Italian painting and exhibiting at major international events, including Documenta (1955 and 1959) and multiple editions of the Venice Biennale. In 1956 he was awarded the Prize for Best Italian Painter at the 28th Venice Biennale, confirming his status on the international stage.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Afro exhibited widely across Europe and the United States, presenting his work at institutions such as MIT, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, Galerie de France in Paris, and Galleria Blu in Milan. Major retrospectives followed, including those at Kunsthalle Darmstadt, the Nationalgalerie in Berlin, and Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara. In the 1970s he devoted increasing attention to graphic work.
Afro passed away in Zurich in 1976. His legacy is preserved in numerous leading museums worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA in New York, Tate Modern in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, SFMOMA, the Barnes Foundation, MART in Rovereto, and the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome.
For information on available works by the artist, please contact the gallery.