After completing classical studies, Giovanni Anselmo (Borgofranco d’Ivrea, 1934 – Turin, 2023) began teaching himself drawing and traditional painting while working as a graphic designer. In 1967, he became one of the artists brought together by Germano Celant under the banner of Arte Povera, an artistic movement that rejected the cultural values of a technologically advanced, organized society in favor of action, contingency, and archetypal forms.
Anselmo’s artistic research focuses on juxtaposing materials and objects with contrasting properties—such as heavy and light, organic and synthetic, technological and natural—to emphasize the latent energy inherent in matter. His work ultimately seeks to reveal the unseen within the seen, and the infinite within the finite.
Works from the 1960s that fully embody these principles include Senza titolo (1967), Neon nel cemento (1967–1969), Torsione (1968), and Respiro (1969).
The first of these features a sheet of Plexiglas bent under the tension of a hooked iron rod, creating a state of precarious balance that demonstrates the continuous action of physical force without the need for fixed connections. Neon nel cemento encapsulates its own mortality: neon tubes encased in concrete blocks emit light—and therefore life—only as long as the energy source endures. Torsione reveals the twist of an iron rod beneath a layer of moleskin fabric, evoking both fragility and tension. In contrast, Respiro juxtaposes iron beams with a sea sponge—two diametrically opposed materials. Subtle temperature fluctuations cause the iron to expand or contract, slightly altering the sponge’s shape.
Expanding on concepts explored in these early works, Anselmo developed a new series during the 1980s involving granite blocks or slabs—often evoking ideas of distance or the overseas—suspended or balanced by steel cables and slipknots. While the placement of these heavy stone elements may suggest a suspension of gravity, it is precisely the force of gravity that maintains their equilibrium, as their weight steadily tightens the knots.
One significant piece from this period is Verso oltremare (1984), in which a granite slab is delicately balanced by a steel cable, its apex subtly drawn—without ever making contact—toward a small rectangle of ultramarine, blue painted on the wall. The title’s reference to “ultramarine” alludes not only to the color but also to its etymological roots in the historic importation of lapis lazuli from distant lands. The yearning for elsewhere, or the “beyond,” is a recurring theme in Anselmo’s work.
Since the 1960s, he has consistently used objects like compass needles to symbolize directional forces. In Mentre la terra si orienta (1967–2007), the needle is embedded in a layer of soil, highlighting the fundamental truth of natural phenomena even within the artificial confines of a museum. By foregrounding the Earth’s magnetic field, the work invites viewers to engage directly with the invisible physical forces that govern the universe.
Over the years, Anselmo took part in major national and international solo and group exhibitions, including: Arte Poveraat Galleria La Bertesca in Genoa (1967); several editions of the Venice Biennale—where he was awarded the Golden Lion for Painting in 1990—and of Documenta in Kassel; the São Paulo Biennial (1994); Italian Art. The Visible and the Invisible at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo (1998); Minimalia at Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome (1998); Arte Povera in Collezione at the Castello di Rivoli (2000–2001); On Line: Drawing Through the Twentieth Century at the Museum of Modern Art (2010); and Entrare nell’opera at the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca in Rome (2019–2020).
His works are held in major international collections and have been featured in numerous solo exhibitions hosted by prestigious institutions, including: Kunstmuseum Luzern (1973); Kunsthalle Basel (1979); Musée de Grenoble (1980); Musée National d’Art Moderne – Centre Pompidou, Paris (1985); Centro Galego de Arte Contemporanea, Santiago de Compostela (1995); Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago (1997); Académie de France à Rome (2001); MAMbo, Bologna (2006); Kunstmuseum Winterthur (2013).
Among his most recent works are Particolare (2019), created for the Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, and the site-specific installation Dove le stelle si avvicinano di una spanna in più (2021) for the gardens of La Venaria Reale in Turin.
Giovanni Anselmo passed away in Turin in 2023, shortly before his 90th birthday.
