Grande grigio

Afro Basaldella (1912-1976), who exhibited and was known by his first name “Afro,” was an Italian artist who showed widely in both Europe and America. Along with the Italian artists Alberto Burri and Lucio Fontana, he was a member of the artists’ group La Scuola Romana; later, he was associated with the Gruppo degli Otto. Printmaking was a critical part of his oeuvre and, in the 1960s and 70s, he focused more on prints than other art forms. Part of his embrace of the technique can be traced to his collaborations with the master printers and publishers at such established print shops as Grafica Romero and La Stamperia 2RC, both in Rome. With these printers and publishers, Afro was able to experiment and challenge expectations for what a print could be, thus expanding possibilities for the technique.

La Grande Grigio is a truly monumental work, both in scale and in impact. The print has a dynamic, layered effects that recall Afro’s earlier work in collages and mosaics. The print embraces the mural tradition and the postwar intention among gestural abstractionists to create what Pollock termed “moveable pictures," as well as Afro’s tapestries and mosaics made earlier. Although the work is dominated by shades of grey, the color black-- a hue frequently used for dramatic effect in Afro's oeuvre--is prominent.