Alberto Gallingani
Utopian Geometry
Alberto Gallingani was born in Florence in 1938, where he still lives and works today. After an initial formative phase of realistic image experience, he came into contact with artists of the abstract Florentine movement in 1961 and developed his experiences in the field of Pittura di Nuova Realtà. During the same period he visited the "Galleria Numero" of Fiamma Vigo, where he had his first solo exhibition in 1964. In 1965 he received a scholarship for young artists awarded by the city of Florence. In 1969 he designed the Primo Manifesto della Pittura di Nuova Realtà and in 1971 he founded the art studio "il Moro" together with others. In the meantime, his artistic experience developed. The concepts of Nuova Realtà become clearer.
In 1973 the series Geometria utopica was created, which emphasized the importance of ideological values in human relationships. His area of interest expands: he begins with photography. The installation "I drew a 50 cm square on the floor" dates from 1976 and in 1977 he had his first performance "I painted with white". This is the beginning of a period of intense experimentation that will take him to the edge of mail art.
To get to know Alberto Gallingani better, he writes himself:
1972... I have a mental and physical aversion to repeating topics that have already been covered. How can you repeat the same subject, the same painting dozens, hundreds of times... I have a deep-seated rejection that I have no weapons against. Then a political/existential problem got in my way: when the ideological enthusiasm was over, I wondered how I could continue my research without making concessions. Once again I joined the group of those who wanted to understand without blinders...two sides of the same problem, and I became convinced that I needed to investigate elsewhere. As I searched for the implications of the story, I realized that the new person my work was intended for had never been born. The vision was incomplete. The environment was there, but not the resident. I decided to look for him and the cycle of Utopian geometries was born... that was in 1973.