Paolo Zughetti (Rome, 1937) developed his artistic practice from the late 1950s onward, within the context of postwar Italian abstract art. His research focuses on the relationships between material, mark, form, and space, through a series of cycles in which the surface of the artwork becomes a site for experimentation and visual construction.

In 1962, he created the Eventi or Cartoni series, using cardboard packaging and reclaimed materials. Folds, undulations, adhesive tape, and traces of the materials’ previous functions became integral elements of the composition.

In 1963, with the Nuclei spaziali series, his research shifted toward the rhythmic repetition of small geometric elements. From the mid-1960s onward, the Articolazioni series took shape, characterized by interconnected structures, modular variations, and relationships between solid and void. The mark assumed a constructive role, defining configurations that appear to expand within the pictorial space.

This phase includes Articolazione A 38 (1968), an oil on canvas measuring 64.5 × 70 cm, held in the MACTE collection and associated with the 22nd Premio Termoli in 1977. Against a turquoise-green background, red geometric elements, predominantly triangular, are arranged in groups and repeated patterns with variations in orientation. Diagonal lines and interruptions in the pattern create an interplay between solid and void, while the chromatic contrast highlights the relationship between structure and surface. Geometry thus becomes a means of articulating pictorial space.

The artist’s work received significant critical attention in the writings of Enrico Crispolti, who included Zughetti in his survey Appunti su aspetti della pittura «astratta» oggi, published in Capitolium in 1973, reproducing Articolazione B3 and Articolazione B22. In 1975, Crispolti wrote the essay Ricerca clandestina for the retrospective exhibition Paolo Zughetti. Ricerca clandestina. Opere 1959–1975 at Galleria Interarte in Milan.

Documented exhibitions include Galleria Soligo in Rome (1974), IncoArt at Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome (1975), and Dall’Astratto al Costruttivismo at Galleria Interarte in Milan (1976). In subsequent years, his research continued through a gradual simplification of forms and reflections on landscape and the concept of place, as evidenced by Eccedenze (1996) and Luoghi non Luoghi (2005).

We would like to thank the Paolo Zughetti Studio/Archive