bice lazzari: the mark & the measure. selected works from 1939-1981

12 may, 2023 - 17 june, 2023

kaufmann repetto new york
55 Walker Street,
10013 New York

kaufmann repetto is delighted to present the mark & the measure, the gallery’s first solo presentation of the late italian modernist, bice lazzari (1900-1981). often described as the “agnes martin of italy,” lazzari was relatively obscure to the international art world during her lifetime, despite her groundbreaking contributions to the history of modernist abstraction. organized in collaboration with richard saltoun gallery, this exhibition focuses on the evolution of lazzari’s pioneering practice within the last four decades of her career and her contributions to abstraction and minimalism.

born in 1900 in venice, bice lazzari came from a family of merchants and architects. she first studied violin and piano as a young girl at the conservatory before enrolling in courses in 1916 at the academy of fine arts, where she studied life drawing and decorative art. despite her interest in formal painting, academic training was not offered to women at the time due to the subject’s required anatomy classes with nude models. her earliest influences were that of en plein air painting, figurative impressionism and later, geometric abstraction. after her father’s death in 1928, the introverted artist gave up figurative painting to pursue work as a designer, one of the few acceptable professions for a young woman at the time. her experience in the applied arts – textiles, decorative panels, etc. – provided her with the opportunity to study and experiment with abstract and geometric designs, thus planting the seeds for her future compositional language.