Piero Fonio Biography
Piero Fonio (1929 - ), after his experiences in Felice Casorati's workshop and those in the Concrete Art Movement (MAC), took on a personal and unmistakable style. Piero Fonio's art-making necessarily implies a profound knowledge of painting understood as a means of expression and at the same time of space interpreted as a three-dimensional entity capable of containing the immensity of everything. From the first figurative researches, experiences of courtly painting resulting from the precious teachings of the master Felice Casorati whom Fonio met and frequented at the beginning of his career, notable qualities in the use of color and an immediate ability to compose can be found. Once this phase linked to a national trend of appel à l'ordre was over, the artist from Chieri carried out a very personal research. After a period of sharing the stimuli coming from the Concrete Art Movement (MAC), from which he soon distanced himself, Fonio had the opportunity to frequent the artistic scene of Turin, the central hub of new experiments in the artistic and musical fields. He met and frequented all the artists who, under the guidance of Germano Celant, were part of the movement defined as Arte Povera, of which, however, the artist never demonstrated interest or motivation to emulate. In the 1970s Fonio further investigated the concept of a work of art. It really shows what is behind the painting, abandoning the belief that the frame has the sole function of support, giving it equal dignity to the canvas. A mix of painting and architecture, comics and music will give life to works of marked originality created in the following years. The two-year period 1980-90, with the experiences of the structures and monuments, will be fundamental to reach a further step. In the works of recent years, in fact, Fonio abandons any spatialist interest to concentrate on the strength of color. In the same way he abandons the canvas to dedicate himself to drawing on paper.
