103 - Adriano Piu (1954)

Adriano Piu (1954) Play of Shadows, 1990 Mixed media on canvas 80 x 89.8 cm Signature: “Piu” on the front in color; “Piu Adriano” on the back of the canvas, in marker Date: “90” on the front in color Other inscriptions: title and location on the back of the canvas, in marker Distinctive features: on the stretcher, a label from the Sixth National Painting Competition—Società Operaia di Mutuo Soccorso di Crocetta del Montello—with details of the work and the artist; a label from Banca Popolare di Asolo e Montebelluna with an inventory reference and a stamp indicating the stretcher’s dimensions Provenance: Veneto Banca SpA in LCA Exhibitions: Sixth National Painting Competition – Società Operaia di Mutuo Soccorso di Crocetta del Montello Condition. Support: 95% Condition. Surface: 95% For direct WhatsApp assistance before and during the live auction: +39 346 12 999 80 // Direct assistance via WhatsApp before and during the auction: +39 346 12 999 80 Adriano Piu was born in Cervignano del Friuli in 1954; he currently lives and works in the historic center of Chiarmacis, in Friuli. From a young age, he devoted himself to painting, participating in his first solo exhibitions and refining his own expressive style during the 1970s. In the 1980s, he participated in exhibitions in public spaces and galleries throughout Italy. His first Italian contract was signed with Lorenzo Lanza of the Galleria Studio d’Arte Lanza in Verbania, who introduced Piu to the art scene in neighboring Switzerland. His work was also appreciated by gallery owner Jansen of the Sacchetti Gallery in Ascona (Switzerland), with whom he began a fruitful collaboration (2004–2009). This period saw him participate in a series of solo exhibitions at various galleries and institutions in Northern Europe, culminating in the purchase of four of his works by the Grenchen Museum. A curious incident, which occurred during the exhibition at the Schroder Gallery in Cologne, saw the artist climb into and row the gondola—the same one used in a Paul Newman film—on the Rhine River; this episode was reported with great fanfare the following day by the German press. The gallerist and collector Jürgen Messmer of Emmendingen (Germany), to mark the 50th anniversary of his career, exhibited Piu’s works and acquired several of them, which are now on view at the Kunsthalle Messmer in Riegel am Kaiserstuhl, a collection that includes artists of the caliber of Max Bill, Georges Braque, Salvador Dalí, Otto Dix, André Evrard, Günter Fruhtrunk, François Morellet, A. R. Penck, and Pablo Picasso. Other works by him are housed in the Miniature Museum in Amsterdam and in the collection of VP Bank in Vaduz (Liechtenstein).