Antonio Calderara (Abbiategrasso, IT, 1903 – Vacciago, IT, 1978)
He enrolled in engineering at the Politecnico di Milano in 1924 but soon abandoned his studies to devote himself entirely to painting. His artistic career began in 1923 with his first solo exhibition at the Galleria Alberto Maulini in Vacciago. In the early 1960s, Calderara moved towards abstract art. He participated in numerous international exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale in 1948, 1956, and 1986; Documenta in Kassel in 1968; and Les grands et les jeunes d’aujourd’hui at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris in 1969. In 1977, the Calderara Foundation was established in his home studio in Vacciago.
Calderara’s early works—portraits of women in interiors, still lifes, and landscapes—reflect influences ranging from Lombard charisma to Divisionism, with inspiration from artists like Georges Seurat and Giorgio Morandi. Over time, however, his work evolved toward a simplification of form and colour, culminating in a distinctly abstract expression. His paintings are characterized by their luminosity and geometric clarity.
“I would like colour to lose its nature of matter to purify itself in the reality of light”, the artist wrote. While, due to the uniqueness of his work, it is challenging to attribute him to a specific current, his research on abstraction is affected by the influence of Fontana’s Spatialism, on the one hand, and, on the other, of the analytic German and Swiss artists. Starting from the optical-perceptive figurative, from 1959, his quest leads him to abstraction, which consists of the use of light seen in time and space.