Dornach, Switzerland. An exhibition of 50 works by the master and over 50 works by his students.
Beppe Assenza is an artist who is well-known and highly regarded in Italy and who received major commissions during his lifetime. In the 1950s, his wife’s serious illness took him to a clinic in Arlesheim; after her death, he chose Dornach as his new home. Here, he began his work as a teacher at a painting school, which, thanks to his skills, attracted an ever-growing circle of artistically talented people.
Throughout his life, Assenza intensively studied the character of color, Goethe’s theory of color, and Rudolf Steiner’s explanations on the subject. From his experience of color, he developed the forms of his paintings, which retain something mysteriously open and always attract and inspire the viewer anew. Assenza once said: “My current art is the result of a renunciation of a skill acquired over decades in favor of a pictorial design that emerges from the color.”
To mark the 120th anniversary of his birth on March 19 and the 40th anniversary of his death on September 23, the Trigon Foundation has organized an exhibition of Assenza’s life’s work at the KunstSchauDepot in Dornach. The exhibition, carefully curated by John Ermel, shows 50 works by Assenza from 1930 until his death in 1985, as well as over 50 works by 20 students who went their own way and became successful artists thanks to his individual support. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalog with color illustrations of all the works on display. The public vernissage took place on Assenza’s birthday and the finissage will take place on the anniversary of his death.
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Translation Charles Cross
Image Beppe Assenza, Dryads, 1970s
