Originally from Friuli, Luciano Fabro moved to Milan in 1959, where he resided for the entirety of his life. There he forged relationships with some of the most interesting artists working in that city such as: Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, Dadamaino and Enrico Castellani. In 1965, Luciano Fabro’s debut exhibition took place at the Vismara Gallery, showcasing pieces crafted from glass, mirrors, and metal. Just a couple of years later, he became involved in the seminal exhibition Arte Povera – Im Spazio, curated by Germano Celant at La Bertesca Gallery in Genoa. This marked Fabro’s immersion into the Arte Povera movement, which he not only joined but also helped establish, participating in all subsequent group exhibitions organized by the collective in the years that followed. From its inception, and continuing through this period, Luciano Fabro’s artistic inquiry revolved around analyzing the linguistic nuances inherent in sculpture. This exploration encompassed both traditional materials like marble and iron, as well as more avant-garde mediums such as glass and silk. Fabro’s focus rested on unlocking the sculptural medium’s potential, liberated from constraints tied to representation or narrative content.
Croce (1965-1986), for example, was a work elaborated in these very years so that the length of its metal segments corresponded proportionally to the dimensions of its environment, allowing for maximum utilization of available space during installation. Transitioning to 1968, Fabro embarked on the series titled Piedi (1968-1972) and Italia. In the latter series, he created silhouettes representing the peninsula using diverse materials, often presenting them in unconventional orientations, such as upside down. The figure of Italy, an image that is easily recognizable but whose symbolic function is nullified, responds well to the needs of the artist intent on making visible “the encumbrance of the object in the vanity of ideology.”
In addition to creating artworks, Luciano Fabro expanded his endeavors into other realms, as demonstrated by his involvement in diverse projects. In 1978, he collaborated with Hidetoshi Nagasawa and Iole De Sanna to revive the Casa degli Artisti in Milan. Moreover, he undertook projects such as Speculum Italiae (1971), which depicted the silhouette of Italy, positioned on its side and leaning against a wall, rendered as a mirrored crystal surface. In the 1970s, Fabro also explored new creative avenues with endeavors like Attaccapanni (di Napoli) (1976-1977).
In this instance, the works are born from an imagined Neapolitan sunset and the colors evoked by it, thereby spotlighting light as the primary subject. Comprising five wall-mounted elements, each piece features a painted cloth suspended from a bronze structure created using the lost wax technique, referencing abstract forms. The sinuous lines of the bronze supports dictate the draping of the fabric, presenting it as a strikingly tangible plastic element juxtaposed against the perceived weightlessness of the supports, thus emphasizing the interplay between materiality and lightness. The titles of each Coat hangers, Attaccapanni (ncoppa ’a filologia nu schiuoppo ’e rose ’ncarnate; Tengo int’ ’e palme mieie ’e gravune ardiente d’ ’o tramonte fino a che ’o vrasiere nun è priparato; ca maneca toia, cumpare, aggio culurate ’e verde sta sera; laureato ’e ceraso jett’a penna int’a ll’orizzonte; ncopp’a corda d’o bucato mo s’è stesa pure ’a notte) are stanzas composed by the artist in Neapolitan dialect.
During the 1980s, Luciano Fabro dedicated his efforts to exploring the concept of space through his series titled Habitat. In 1983, Fabro also began teaching at the Brera Academy. As the decade drew to a close, the artist unveiled a new work titled Paul Bird 1450-1989 (1989). This piece draws upon the name of the Renaissance painter to evoke perspectives that oscillate between absolute rule and visionary transgression contradicting each other. The reference to the year 1450 alludes to Paolo Uccello’s creation of frescoes in the Green Cloister of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, where unconventional and almost irrational perspective constructions unfold biblical themes such as the Universal Flood. Meanwhile, the year 1989 marks the presentation of Fabro’s work at the Castello di Rivoli during his solo exhibition.
Luciano Fabro passed away in 2007 while preparing an exhibition at the MADRE Museum in Naples. Nonetheless, the exhibition, titled Didactica magna minima moralia opened later that year. In 2008, his work was showcased for the first time in Italy at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome during the 15th Quadriennale exhibition, featuring his piece Autunno. Fabro’s works are held in the collections of major national and international museums. These include the Centre George Pompidou in Paris, the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, the Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome, the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Donnaregina in Naples (MADRE), the TATE Gallery in London, MoMA in New York, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).
