The expression "sotto voce" (beneath/under voice) indicates words spoken in an undertone or low voice. Softly whispered words make us think about calm and tranquillity, visually conjuring up serene landscapes in neutral tones and shades. This is the main reason why a current exhibition at the Dominique Lévy Gallery (the second show at its new London space in 22 Old Bond Street) is entitled "Sotto Voce" (on until today). The event, mainly focusing on a specific period of time going from the 1930s to the 1970s, comprises a wide range of artists creating abstract white reliefs.
The list of artists included is long and goes from Henri Laurens to Sergio Camargo, passing through Jean Arp, Ben Nicholson, Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, Enrico Castellani, Fausto Melotti, Günther Uecker, Luis Tomasello, and Mira Schendel, among the others. In a nutshell, there are international representatives of different movements – from Surrealism to the Zero Group, Spatialism to Minimalism, and Conceptual Art to Constructivism – engaging in a unique dialogue that at times is intentional, at other is completely accidental.
The artists featured – selected with the help of international curators, collectors and artist's estates – will definitely change the perspective of many visitors regarding the white shade: this simple and basic tone is employed by artists such as Lucio Fontana to create works that revolve around the concept of space and the possibility of going behind the canvas, but further concepts and ideas are explored in other artworks on display here.
In "White Relief" (1936) – inspired by European schools of thought such as Abstraction-Création, Bauhaus and De Stijl – artist Ben Nicholson plays with light across a shallow relief and with variations of lights and shades with his incised or raised forms, achieving through perfect symmetry a softness of composition; Jean Arp's "Composition schématique" (1943), a geometrical composition in smooth marble, echoes instead in its shapes the reliefs made by the artist as a monument to his wife, while celebrating the beauty of the Mediterranean.
Visitors interested in paintings for the mind and works that focus on the perception of the visual experience and imagination through different shapes will enjoy Enrico Castellani's canvases and Sergio Camargo's "Madiera Pintada No. 288" (1970). The latter also looks at density, with flowing spirals filling up the frame, evoking a movement from the individual part to the multiple whole, floating in a dimension between painting and sculpture, in a constant otherworldly trance.
Some of the works included will inspire visitors to experiment more with unusual materials: Piero Manzoni's three "Achrome" works (from 1958 to the early '60s) combine wet kaolin crystallised and hardened on canvas, or painted polystyrene balls and kaolin on canvas; in Alberto Burri's "Combustione CP 9" (1964) the beauty of pure white is instead corrupted by the black tones of combustion on cellotex.
At around the same time that Manzoni was producing his achromes, Günther Uecker joined the Zero Group and developed works made with painted nails. His canvases covered in rows of nails turn into perfect platforms on which the artist played with concepts such as purity, positivity, and linearity.
Apart from rediscovering seminal works, "Sotto Voce" offers visitors the chance to find out more about artists that may not be that well known, but that are equally interesting and visually striking, such as Ascânio Maria Martins Monteiro, better known as Ascânio MMM.
The Portuguese-born, but Brazil-based architect who experimented first in the '60s with works painted in white, is known for his geometrical structures such as "Relevo Quadrados 23" (1968-2006; included in this exhibition), that tackle philosophy, maths, art and architecture.
Exhibitions based on one main shade can at times be a bit too cold and alienating, but "Sotto Voce" employs white works of art to ambitiously take visitors on a collective journey of discovery through lights and shadows, materials, shapes, forms and silhouettes.
Fashionistas will better take note as abstract white reliefs are definitely among the sub-trends for the next autumnal season: Tess Giberson's Autumn/Winter 2015-16 collection, inspired by frozen Arctic landscapes, features for example plenty of white garments – from stark white shirt dresses to puffy down parkas and fur-trimmed vests, gloves and scarves – in various contrasting textures, from smooth to chunky, curly, ribbed, fringed and pleated.
Image credits for this post
1. Jean Arp
Composition schématique
1943
Marble
23.6 x 29.7 cm
© DACS 2015
2. Sergio Camargo
Madiera Pintada No. 288
1970
Painted wood
120 x 100 cm
© Galeria Raquel Arnaud – Estate of Sergio Camargo
3. Ben Nicholson
White Relief
1936
Oil on carved mahogany on plywood (in artist's frame), 66 x 83.8 cm
© Angela Verren Taunt 2015. All rights reserved, DACS
4. Enrico Castellani
Superficie bianca
1978
Acrylic on canvas
80 x 80 cm
© DACS 2015
5. Piero Manzoni
Achrome
1958
Kaolin on canvas
40 x 29.8 cm
© DACS 2015
6. Piero Manzoni
Achrome
1962-1963
Painted polystyrene balls and kaolin on canvas
70 x 50 cm
© DACS 2015
7. Günther Uecker
Untitled
1967
Painted nails and canvas on board
43 x 43 cm
© Günther Uecker. All rights reserved. DACS 2015
8. Ascânio MMM
Relevo Quadrados 23
1968-2006
Painted wood
102 x 102 x 13 cm
© Artelier Ascanio MMM
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