MARIO BALLOCCO

16 artworks: 5 silkscreens, 11 paintings; 1948 - 1997

(Milano, 1913 – 2008)

Prominent figure in the Italian abstract art world following the Second World War. After attending painting courses held by A. Carpi in Brera, in 1947 he went to Argentina where he studied with L. Fontana.

In 1949, he founded the magazine "AZ arte d'oggi", advocating theories of abstract art and the role of color. Through this publication, in edition no. 6 dated November 1950, he announced the creation of a group called Origine (A. Burri, G. Capogrossi, E. Colla) which was later disbanded in 1951. From 1957 to 1964 he founded and directed the magazine “Colore: estetica e logica”. Between 1952 and 1953 he curated the first and second Esposizione di Design ed Estetica Industriale [Exhibition on Design and Industrial Aesthetics] in Milan.

From 1953 to 1959 he acted as consultant to the Milan Trade Fair Authority for industrial aesthetics. In 1958, he held the first color exhibition at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan. He theorized the principles of Chromatology, introducing its study in the Academies of Bergamo (1970), Milan (1972) and in the Faculty of Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan (1988-1993).