Carlo Alfano

Carlo Alfano was a multifaceted artist whose journey through the realms of art, music, literature, and philosophy defined his creative identity.

Biography of Carlo Alfano

Carlo Alfano was born in 1932 in the vibrant city of Naples, Italy. 

In the 1950s, Alfano's artistic education extended beyond traditional painting. He embraced diverse interests, including music (having studied at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella), literature, and the profound study of philosophy. This holistic approach to his craft would shape his unique perspective and creative output.

Driven by his curiosity and a growing fascination with representation and perception, Alfano decided to further his education, enrolling at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples after completing high school. Here, he delved deeper into the world of art and honed his skills.

From the 1960s to the late 1980s, Carlo Alfano made a name for himself by participating in some of the most significant art exhibitions across Italy and Europe. His artistic journey began in informal figurative painting, but in 1962, Alfano transitioned toward geometrical shapes, using metal cylinders to create artworks that played with distorted reflections, inviting viewers to explore the boundaries of perception.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Alfano's work took on a more intimate and existential tone characterized by profound lyricism. This was exemplified at the XL Venice Biennale in 1982, where his art resonated deeply with audiences and critics alike.

Tragically, Carlo Alfano's remarkable journey was cut short, as he passed away in 1990. 

Carlo Alfano's Art Style

In December 1955, Carlo Alfano marked his artistic debut with his inaugural solo exhibition in Naples, hosted at the San Carlo Gallery, where he unveiled a collection of graphic works.

During these early years, his artistic language blended diverse elements, offering a visual narrative that alternated between tangible and informal materializations, juxtaposed with an airy and light-hearted use of color.

The pivotal year of 1962 witnessed a significant turning point in Alfano's artistic journey. His exhibition at the Galleria l'Obelisco in Rome featured a striking series of works. Here, he portrayed deep, enigmatic black canvases, creating an unfathomable spatial backdrop. Against this backdrop, monumental figures emerged, appearing isolated and seemingly suspended in mid-air.

Starting in 1963, Carlo Alfano transcended the traditional boundaries of painting, making the question of representation a central theme in his work. He interpreted this challenge as a form of symbolic and spatial ambiguity in relation to the dimension of time.

From 1968 onward, many of his creations evolved into installations and environments, exemplified by exhibitions in venues such as the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, the 1970 exhibitions "Vitalità del negativi" in Rome, "Amore mio" in Montepulciano, and the Modern Art Agency of Naples.

Concurrently, starting in 1969, Alfano reappropriated traditional painting, expressing his subjective and personal perception of time through linear numerical sequences. These sequences were marked by seconds interspersed with silent intervals, phrases, thoughts, and occasional reflections, often presented on large monochrome canvases, either in stark black or pristine white.

One of the initial works from the "Fragments of an anonymous self-portrait" series was "Fragments of an anonymous self-portrait n.1" (1969/1970). In this piece, Alfano masterfully mirrored and reversed a visual fragment on the spatial-pictorial plane, alluding to the temporal and auditory fragment in "Stanza per voices."

Alfano's artistic reflection intersected with some of Caravaggio's iconic works. His fascination with Caravaggio's "The Vocation of St. Matthew" was centered on the theme of waiting, encapsulated by darkness as a means of subtracting from representation.

In the 1980s, Alfano's art saw the human figure divided into two parts, signifying a profound shift and a departure from classical centrality that was intrinsic to the individual. The art of this decade was characterized by powerful visual impact, presenting an ambiance that was ethereal and coldly serene, echoing the evolution of Alfano's artistic exploration.