Mitchell-Innes & Nash

Alberto Burri

Biography

Alberto Burri (1915 – 1995) was born in Città di Castello, Italy. He earned a medical degree in 1940, before serving as a surgeon during World War II in North Africa where he was captured in 1943 by Allied troops and sent to the United States, to a prisoner-of-war camp in Hereford, Texas. Burri began to paint during his internment using empty burlap and mail sacks for canvases, and continued to use mail sacks throughout his career. Following his release in 1945, Burri returned to Italy, settled in Rome, and dedicated his self full-time to painting. In 1947, he had his first solo exhibition at Galleria La Margherita in Rome. From that point on, Burri's work was exhibited throughout the U.S. and Europe in numerous group and solo exhibitions, at venues that include the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, both in New York; the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Burri was awarded Third Prize at the 1958 Carnegie International (Pittsburgh), the UNESCO Prize at the 1959 Sao Paulo Biennale and granted a solo exhibition at the 30th Venice Biennale in 1960. More recently, Burri's work was prominently featured in Germano Celant's Italian Metamorphosis exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in 1994, a year before Burri died in Nice, France.

Artist Exhibitions

Alberto Burri - November 29, 2007 - January 19, 2008

Artist Images

ALBERTO BURRI
"Cretto L.A.," 1976
Acrovinillico on cellotex
12 13/16 by 10 in. 32.5 by 25.4 cm.


ALBERTO BURRI
"Cretto Nero e Oro," Circa 1994
Ceramic
16 1/4 by 24 in. 41.3 by 61 cm.