SHAPE AND MATTER IN THE SCULPTURES OF ALBERTO BURRI

Alberto Burri is an Italian artist who worked in the post-war period; his works belong to the current called "arte informale", that is, contrary to any form. His artistic research ranges from painting to sculpture, where he always focused on the expressiveness of materials, while making his works with common materials. His career initially developed as works in separate series, where each series used a different material. This is precisely the great strength of Burri's work, as each material becomes itself the main subject. The research presented in the paper will focus on the last period of Burri's career, when he added sculptures to his pictorial cycles. The form and meaning of the artist's sculptures will be analysed for the Grandi Ferri (i.e. the Big Irons).