37 x 37 in
Riccardo Guarneri was born in Florence in 1933. After early figurative works and an initial engagement with Informal painting, he began during the early 1960s to develop a rigorous and highly personal investigation into light, colour, perception and sign. His practice emerged within the context of European post-war abstraction while maintaining a distinctive poetic sensitivity.
From 1962 onward, Guarneri focused on colour as light and on the perceptual possibilities of the painted surface. His compositions are often built through subtle geometries, delicate chromatic shifts and barely perceptible signs. Rather than imposing form, his works seem to allow the image to appear gradually, creating a space of suspension, vibration and silence.
Guarneri was invited to the 33rd Venice Biennale in 1966, where he exhibited in the same room as Agostino Bonalumi and Paolo Scheggi. He also participated in Weiss auf Weiss at the Kunsthalle Bern and in exhibitions connected to Nuova Tendenza. In 2017, he was invited by Christine Macel to participate in the 57th Venice Biennale, Viva Arte Viva.
His work has received renewed institutional attention in recent years. In 2021, four works by Guarneri entered the collection of the Centre Pompidou, Paris. Recent exhibitions include presentations at Museo Novecento, Florence; Museo Ettore Fico, Turin; Museo Piaggio, Pontedera; and Gallery Rosenfeld in London and Lugano.
His works are held in collections including the Centre Pompidou, Paris; Museo Novecento, Florence; Museo del Novecento, Milan; Museo Ettore Fico, Turin; Museo Piaggio, Pontedera; and Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, Florence.
Guarneri lives and works in Florence.