Arnaldo Pomodoro (born 23 June 1926) is an Italian

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. He was born in Morciano,

Romagna Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...

, and lives and works in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. His brother,

Giò Pomodoro Giò Pomodoro (; 17 November 1930 – 21 December 2002) was an Italian sculptor, printmaker, and stage designer. His brother is the sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro. In 1954 he moved to Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in n ...

(1930–2002) was also a sculptor. Pomodoro designed a controversial fiberglass crucifix for the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

. The piece is topped with a fourteen-foot diameter crown of thorns which hovers over the figure of Christ. Some of Pomodoro's '' Sphere Within Sphere'' (''Sfera con Sfera'') can be seen in the

Vatican Museums The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of ...

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, the

United Nations Headquarters The United Nations is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States, and the complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1951. It is in the Turtle Bay, Manhattan, Turtle Bay neig ...

and Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, the

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., the United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was desig ...

in Washington, D.C.
Christian Theological Seminary
in Indianapolis, the

de Young Museum The de Young Museum, formally the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, is a fine arts museum located in San Francisco, California. Located in Golden Gate Park, it is a component of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, along with the California Pala ...

in San Francisco,

Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, ( Persian: موزه هنرهای معاصر تهران), also known as TMoCA, is among the largest art museums in Tehran and Iran. It has collections of more than 3,000 items that include 19th and 20th centur ...

, American Republic Insurance Company in Des Moines, Iowa, the Columbus Museum of Art in Columbus, Ohio, the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia, and the Tel Aviv University, Israel.

Early life

Arnaldo Pomodoro was born on 23 June 1926 in

Morciano di Romagna Morciano di Romagna ( rgn, Murzèn or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rimini in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna. It is about southeast of Bologna and about southeast of Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) ...

Montefeltro Montefeltro is a historical and geographical region in Marche, which was historically part of Romagna. It gave its name to the Montefeltro family, who ruled in the area during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Regions of Italy Overview Montef ...

area. He received his diploma from the Technical Institute for Surveyors in

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

, and then worked at the Public Works Office in Pesaro. He developed an interest in art and scenography, and attended the Art Institute in

Pesaro Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...

1950s–60s

In 1953, Pomodoro attended an exhibition of

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

which was held in Milan at the

Palazzo Reale This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa * Abdin Palace, Cairo * Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo * Koubbeh Palace, Cairo * Tahra Palace, Cairo * Menelik Palace * Jubilee Palace * Guenete Leul Palace * Imperial Palace- Massa ...

. This exhibition made a strong impression on him, and a year after he moved to Milan where he joined the artistic community and became friends with

Lucio Fontana Lucio Fontana (; 19 February 1899 – 7 September 1968) was an Argentine-Italian painter, sculptor and theorist. He is mostly known as the founder of Spatialism. Early life Born in Rosario, to Italian immigrant parents, he was t ...

, Dangelo, Sanesi, Baj, and others. He took part in the 10th

Triennale The Triennale di Milano is a design and art museum in the Parco Sempione in Milan, in Lombardy in northern Italy. It is housed in the Palazzo dell'Arte, which was designed by Giovanni Muzio and built between 1931 and 1933; construction was fina ...

in Milan, and together with his brother Gio' he also participated in the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

. In 1959, Arnaldo Pomodoro received a grant to study American art, and traveled to the United States for the first time. He describes his visit to

MoMa Moma may refer to: People * Moma Clarke (1869–1958), British journalist * Moma Marković (1912–1992), Serbian politician * Momčilo Rajin (born 1954), Serbian art and music critic, theorist and historian, artist and publisher Places ; Ang ...

and seeing Brancusi's sculptures as a strong inspiration for his work. In San Francisco, he met

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Latv ...

who was teaching at the

California School of Fine Arts San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximatel ...

. In New York Pomodoro met

Costantino Nivola Costantino (also known as Antine, in Sardinia, or Tino, in the United States, US) Nivola (July 5, 1911 – May 6, 1988) was an Italian sculptor, architectural sculptor, muralist, designer, and teacher. Born in Sardinia, Nivola had already sta ...

and

Enrico Donati Enrico Donati (February 19, 1909 – April 25, 2008) was an Italian-American Surrealist painter and sculptor. Life and work Enrico Donati studied economics at the Università degli Studi, Pavia, and in 1934 moved to the USA, where he attended th ...

who introduced him to such artists as

Franz Kline Franz Kline (May 23, 1910 – May 13, 1962) was an American painter. He is associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1940s and 1950s. Kline, along with other action painters like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Robert Mot ...

Jasper Johns Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker whose work is associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and pop art. He is well known for his depictions of the American flag and other US-related top ...

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

and others. He also met sculptors David Smith and

Louise Nevelson Louise Nevelson (September 23, 1899 – April 17, 1988) was an American sculptor known for her monumental, monochromatic, wooden wall pieces and outdoor sculptures. Born in the Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Kyiv Oblast, ...

, and organized an exhibition ''New Work from Italy'', dedicated to Italian artists. Later in 1960s, he developed a collaboration with the

Marlborough Gallery Marlborough Fine Art was founded in London in 1946 by Frank Lloyd and Harry Fischer. In 1963, a gallery was opened as Marlborough-Gerson in Manhattan, New York, at the Fuller Building on Madison Avenue and 57th Street, which later relocated in ...

in New York. In 1963, Pomodoro received the International Prize for Sculpture at the VII

São Paulo Biennale SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...

and also the National Prize for Sculpture at the XXXII

in 1964. In 1966, he became an artist in residence at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, and then at

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...

and

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was ...

. The following year he created the ''Sfera grande'' for the Italian Pavilion at the Montreal Expo. This sculpture is now located in front of the

Farnesina Palace The Palazzo della Farnesina is an Italian government building located between Monte Mario and the Tiber River in the Foro Italico area in Rome, Italy. Designed in 1935, it has housed the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs since its completion in ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. That year Pomodoro won the International Prize for Sculpture from the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh.

1970s–80s

In 1972, Arnaldo Pomodoro returned to set design, and worked on the play ''

Das Käthchen von Heilbronn ' (''Katie of Heilbronn or The Trial by Fire'') (1807–1808) is a "great historical knightly play" (German: ') in five acts by the German playwright Heinrich von Kleist. The action of the drama takes place in Swabia during the Middle Ages. Perf ...

'' by

Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'', ''The Broken Jug'', ''Amph ...

, which was staged in Zurich. In 1984, he had a large retrospective exhibition at the Forte di Belvedere in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. In 1988, Pomodoro participated in the

as well as the international exhibition of sculpture at the World Expo in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. His work ''Forme del Mito'' (''Forms of Myth'') which was displayed at the Expo, was later purchased by

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...

for the City of

1990s–present

In 1990, Arnaldo Pomodoro received the

Praemium Imperiale Prince Takamatsu The Praemium Imperiale ( ja, 高松宮殿下記念世界文化賞, Takamatsu-no-miya Denka Kinen Sekai Bunka-shō, World Culture Prize in Memory of His Imperial Highness Prince Takamatsu) is an international art prize inaugura ...

for Sculpture from the Japan Art Association. His work ''Sfera con Sfera'' was installed in the Cortile della Pigna of the

. In 1992, he was awarded an honorary degree in Literature by

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

in Dublin. The following year he was nominated the honorary member of the Brera Art Academy in Milan. In 1995, the ''Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro'' was created as a cultural and exhibition center dedicated to contemporary art. Originally conceived as a centre to document and archive the work of the artist, it opened an exhibition space in 2005, hosting exhibitions of prominent artists such as

Jannis Kounellis Jannis Kounellis ( el, Γιάννης Κουνέλλης; 23 March 1936 – 16 February 2017) was a Greek Italian artist based in Rome. A key figure associated with Arte Povera, he studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. Life and work ...

and

Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combines (1954–1964), a group of artwor ...

. The director of Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro is Flaminio Gualdoni. In 1996, Arnaldo Pomodoro was awarded the Knight of the Great Cross of the Italian Republic (Cavaliere di gran croce dell'Ordine al merito della Repubblica italiana). His sculpture ''Sfera con Sfera'' was installed in front of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

building in New York City. In 2014–15, Pomodoro finished one of his fundamental works – ''the Pietrarubbia Group,'' which was started in 1975. He then explained the idea behind this project:

Quotes

On Form and Movement:

Set design for theatre and opera

* ''Semiramide'' by

Gioacchino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...

(1982), Teatro dell'Opera of

* ''Orestea di Gibellina'' by Emilio Isgrò, on a text by Eschilo (1983–1985) * ''Didone'' by

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe (; baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), was an English playwright, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. Based upon the ...

(1986) * ''Alceste'' by

Christoph Willibald Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...

(1987), Teatro dell'Opera of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

– stage and costumes * ''Oedipus rex'' by

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

(1988),

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

* ''La Passione di Cleopatra'' by

Ahmad Shawqi Ahmed Shawqi (also written Chawki; ar, أحمد شوقي, , ; ; 1868–1932), nicknamed the Prince of Poets ( ar, أمير الشعراء ''Amīr al-Shu‘arā’''), was an Arabic poet laureate, to the Arabic literary tradition. Life Raised ...

, an Egyptian poet (1989) * ''I Paraventi'' by

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...

(1990), Teatro Comunale of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

– stage and costumes * ''Nella solitudine dei campi di cotone'' by

Bernard-Marie Koltès Bernard-Marie Koltès (; 9 April 1948 – 15 April 1989) was a French playwright and theatre director best known for his plays ''La Nuit juste avant les Forêts'' (''The Night Just Before the Forests'', 1976), ''Sallinger'' (1977) and ''Dans la ...

(1992) * ''Più grandiose dimore'' by

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...

(1993) * ''Oreste'' di

Vittorio Alfieri Count Vittorio Alfieri (, also , ; 16 January 17498 October 1803) was an Italian dramatist and poet, considered the "founder of Italian tragedy." He wrote nineteen tragedies, sonnets, satires, and a notable autobiography. Early life Alfieri was ...

(1993) * ''Stabat Mater'', ''La passione secondo Giovanni'' and ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' by Antonio Tarantino (1994–1995) * ''Moonlight'' by

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

(1995) * ''Drammi Marini'' by

(1996) * ''Antigone'' by

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ''Antigone'', an a ...

(1996) * ''Tempesta (The Tempest)'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

(1998) – stage and costumes * ''Un ballo in maschera'' by

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

(2005), Opernhaus of

Lipsia Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

– stage and costumes * ''

Teneke ''Teneke'' is an opera in three acts by Italian composer Fabio Vacchi. Franco Marcoaldi adapted the Italian libretto from the eponymous novel by the Turkish author Yaşar Kemal published in 1955. The opera was premiered on September 22, 2007 ...

'' by

Fabio Vacchi Fabio Vacchi (; born February 19, 1949), is an Italian composer. Biography Training and debut Fabio Vacchi studied at the Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini of Bologna with Giacomo Manzoni and Tito Gotti. In 1974 he participated in the cou ...

(2007),

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

– stage and costumes

Honors and awards

** International Prize for Sculpture, VII

, 1963. ** National Prize for Sculpture, XXXII

, 1964. ** International Prize for Sculpture, Carnegie Institute, 1967. **

for Sculpture, Japan Art Association, 1990. ** Honorary degree in Literature,

, 1992. ** The Knight of the Great Cross of the Italian Republic, 1996. **

International Sculpture Center The International Sculpture Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1960 by Elden Tefft and James A. Sterritt at the University of Kansas. It is currently located on the old New Jersey Fairground in Hamilton, New Jersey Its goal is ...

's Lifetime Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award, 2008.International Sculpture Center website
'Lifetime Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award page'
Retrieved 24 January 2010.

Gallery

Image:Trinity Pomodoro.jpg, ''Sphere Within Sphere'' by Pomodoro in Trinity College, Dublin Image:Amaliehaven - column.jpg, One of four columns by Pomodoro in the

Amaliehaven Amaliehaven (English: The Amalie Garden) is a small park located between Amalienborg Palace and the waterfront in the Frederiksstaden neighbourhood of central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was established in 1983 as a gift from the A.P. Møller and the ...

park in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark Image:Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6343260.jpg, Arnoldo Pomodoro, 1965

Footnotes

References

* Radford, Georgia and Warren Radford, ''Sculpture in the Sun, Hawaii's Art for Open Spaces'', University of Hawaii Press, 1978, 95.

External links

Arnaldo Pomodoro biography on the Guggenheim Museum Website

Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro

Museum of Outdoor Arts MOA>art piece full details

Arnaldo Pomodoro's major creations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pomodoro, Arnaldo 20th-century Italian sculptors 20th-century Italian male artists Italian male sculptors 21st-century Italian sculptors Italian contemporary artists Living people 1926 births 21st-century Italian male artists