Lot 46 | SALVO (Salvatore Mangione) | "Capriccio"

The Italian art scene
Turin became the adopted home of Salvatore Mangione, born in Sicily in 1947, who called himself Salvo for short. Although his art developed there in the context of conceptual art and Arte Povera, it developed into a completely independent style. He was in contact with artists such as Mario Merz, Giuseppe Penone and Giulio Paoli, and was particularly close friends with Alighiero Boetti. After experimenting with different materials, he returned to painting in 1973 and remained faithful to it. His engagement with art history runs like a red thread through his entire oeuvre.
There is also a connection to Cologne through Salvo's professional and friendly relationship with Paul Maenz, whom he met in 1971 and who exhibited his work in his Cologne gallery in the same year. The artist was also invited to the legendary ‘Project 74’ exhibition in Cologne. His works are shown at Documenta 5 (1972) in Kassel and the Venice Biennale (1976 and 1984) and are represented in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin and many others. For some years now, Salvo's work has been experiencing a revival: rediscovered and exhibited by renowned galleries such as the Gladstone Gallery, his visibility and value on the art market is increasing.

‘Capriccio’
The painting presented here is from Salvo's most important series of works, entitled ‘Capriccio’, which characterises his oeuvre. The word ‘Capriccio’ was established by the great Vasari, the first chronicler of (predominantly Italian) art history. It stands for creativity that challenges the established art canon. Salvo joins the tradition of Italian landscape or veduta painting, but he transcends the boundaries in a playful, dreamlike manner.
The painting shows two upright columns in the centre, which appear to come from an ancient ruin. Further column elements lie in front of them on the lush green lawn. These remnants of an advanced civilisation are located within a deserted, idyllic landscape with pine trees and cypresses in front of a body of water and a mountain. Salvo presents his subject to us in a naive style reduced to the essentials, similar to Andreas Schulze. Memories of real places come to mind, but the colouring - which is unparalleled - immerses the scenery in a surreal dream world. The columns shimmer orange-brown with pink-purple shadows - contrasted by blue, green and grey. A special lighting mood transfigures the scene and feeds the longing for a Mediterranean landscape. Culture and nature merge, reality and dream, past and present become one. We become aware of the passing of time as well as the infinity of a moment, which Salvo has captured here.