Born in Bari, Pino Pascali probably stands as the most renowned artists from the Apulia region throughout Italy’s twentieth century. His career, though brief, was marked by brilliance across sculpture, set design, and performance art. Pascali’s approach was characterized by an unexpected and inventive fusion of primary and mythical motifs drawn from Mediterranean culture and nature. Themes such as the Great Mother, Venus, the Sea, the Earth, and agricultural rituals were intertwined with playful and adventurous elements reminiscent of childhood. These included prehistoric creatures, zoo animals, sea life, war toys, and the fantastical world of Tarzan and the jungle, as well as whimsical creatures like caterpillars and worms, and various disguises. These themes were translated by Pascali into monumental forms and essential structures that occasionally referenced icons of mass culture. Yet, he remained distinct from the Pop Art movement. Instead, he employed fragile and ephemeral materials like canvas, wood, steel wool, acrylic fur, and straw, offering a personal response to emerging trends from the United States during the 1960s, including Pop Art and Minimal Art. In some instances, his innovative approach even foreshadowed movements such as Arte Povera and Body Art.
After spending a year (1940-41) in Tirana, where his father, a police officer, had been transferred, he returned to his hometown of Polignano. In 1956, having completed his baccalaureate in art in Naples, he enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. During his time in Rome, he avidly pursued Toti Scialoja’s set design course, mingled with artists from the Gruppo di Piazza del Popolo, and promptly began exhibiting his work. His exhibitions included showcases at the Tommaseo Institute in Tivoli (1956), the Circolo Culturale delle Vittorie (1956), and the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds – Exhibition of Set Design (1959). Even prior to graduating from the Academy in 1959, he had worked as set designer for RAI productions creating sketches, drawings, characters, and short films for commercials and broadcasts like Carosello. Alongside these professional endeavors, Pascali pursued personal artistic exploration. Between 1960 and 1964, he embarked on a series of works under the banner of new dada, which were largely destroyed by his father the day following his death, as per the artist’s wishes. In 1965, he debuted his first solo exhibition at La Tartaruga Gallery in Rome, showcasing pieces such as Pezzi di donne, Muro di pietra and Ruderi sul prato, and in the following three years he captured the attention of prominent art critics including Vivaldi, Calvesi, Grandi, Rubiu, Boatto, Bucarelli, and De Marchis. That same year, Pascali exhibited Grande come un cucciolo, at Galleria Ferrari in Verona as part of the group exhibition La critica e la giovane pittura italiana and presented the Teatrino at the exhibition Realtà dell’immagine held at the Feltrinelli Bookstore in Rome. During the summer, he orchestrated the installation-performance titled Requiescat at La Salita Gallery and Torre Astura in Nettuno, alongside a second solo show titled Revolt 1 in Palermo. Additionally, he participated in numerous group exhibitions across Italy and France. In 1966, Pascali accepted an invitation from the Sperone Gallery in Turin, where he showcased several notable works, including Cannone “Bella Ciao”, Cannone semovente, Lanciamissili Uncle Tom and Uncle Sam, Missile “Colomba della pace”, Mitragliatrici and Bombe a mano. These works, more than merely nodding to Pop Art, flirted with the realm of set design.
Later that year, he collaborated with Fabio Sargentini to present a series of animal-themed works, alongside a collection of trophies. Notable pieces from this period included Il mare, Barca che affonda and Balene. Pascali also exhibited in Naples at Libreria Guida and Galleria Il Centro, showcasing a diverse range of works including Torso di negra al bagno. The exhibition, titled Tendenze confrontate was divided into two sections: L’arte visuale andFigurazione oggettuale. It had multiple iterations in various locations including Stockholm, the Galleria dell’Obelisco and Galleria della Tartaruga in Rome, the Troisième Exposition Internationale de Sculpture Contemporaine at the Musée Rodin in Paris, the VI Annual Yugoslavia-Italy in Porec, and the Depot Gallery in Genoa.
But there’s more: In 1966, the artist received an invitation from the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome to contribute two works to the exhibition Aspetti dell’Arte Italiana Contemporanea, slated to tour various cities including Cannes, Dortmund, Cologne, Oslo, Belfast, and Edinburgh. In 1967, Galleria L’Attico organized Pascali’s inaugural solo exhibition abroad at the Thelen Galerie in Essen, Germany. During this period, he also debuted a series of new works inspired by natural elements, including Pozzanghere, 1 metro cubo di terra, 2 metri cubi di terra. These pieces later reappeared in Germano Celant’s 1967 exhibition Arte Povera – Im-spazio.
Simultaneously, Pascali showcased the Ricostruzione della balena at the Exhibition of Contemporary Italian Art in Tokyo and Kyoto. Additionally, three other works—Campi coltivati, Cornice di fieno and Canali d’irrigazione —were exhibited at the Jolas Gallery in Milan. Finally, he presented Campi arati e Canali d’irrigazione at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome that same year.
In 1968, Pascali’s work was featured at the Art Intermedia Gallery in Cologne, and he unveiled Vedova Blu, a piece created for the 6th Rome Biennale at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni. He also participated in exhibitions alongside the Arte Povera group and showcased Bachi da Setola at the Jolas Galerie in Paris. During the summer, he secured a solo room at the XXXIV Venice Biennale, marking a pinnacle moment in his career and posthumously earning him the International Prize for Sculpture. In 1969, the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome paid tribute to Pascali with the first major retrospective, a year after his life was cut short by a motorcycle accident.