LARDERA Berto (1911-1989)

Berto Lardera was born in Italy. He is the son of a shipyard worker. All his sculptures are inspired by the monumental structures observed on construction sites.

In 1942 he had his first personal exhibition in Milan. In 1947, Lardera moved permanently to Paris and the following year he presented a solo exhibition of his two-dimensional sculptures and drawings at the Denise Renè gallery. He participated in the Salon de Mai and the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles and, in 1948, he was invited to exhibit at the Venice Biennale, the first of his many participations in this international event. He then exhibited at the São Paulo Biennial and at the 3 Documenta in Kassel in 1955, 1959 and 1964, as well as at the New Delhi Triennial in 1968. From 1958 until 1961, he was guest professor (Gastprofessor) at the school of art in Hamburg.

Lardera's work is abstract in nature but almost always refers to figuration. Between 1942 and 1945, the artist created the first examples of what he called "two-dimensional sculpture". From 1949, he added a third dimension to his compositions by constructing more elaborate geometric planes. The Italian sculptor is present in many collections.

You can admire his works at The British Museum, the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ), The Peggy Guggenheim Collection, the Center Pompidou, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, as well as in our galleries in Saint Ouen .