Ugo La Pietra: ricerche in materiali plastici, dal quadro all’ambiente (1966-1970)

the work of artist and architect Ugo La Pietra in the second half of the 1960s is focused on the contacts between architectonical and urban research and the abstract use of plastic materials. Following ideas he developed as an assistant professor at the Milan Polytechnic, it is possible to trace the development of his work from an abstract “signic” painting to the use of an analogous language as a “reading” of a urban form. this reflection on the relationship between sign and field stays consistent in his “objectual” paintings in transparent methacrylate (Strutturazioni tissurali, 1966). the following step in his research is the use of the same materials and principles for architectural projects (Altre Cose shop, 1967, in Milan) and meta-architectural immersive spaces (Self-service audiovisivo, 1968 and Audio-Visual Environment, 1969). At the turn of the decade the artist gradually sets aside abstract forms and plastic materials in his more critically oriented research, without abandoning them in his painting practice.