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Enrico Baj Installation view

Enrico Baj
Installation view
Friedrich Petzel Gallery
2007

Enrico Baj Installation view

Enrico Baj
Installation view
Friedrich Petzel Gallery
2007

Enrico Baj Installation view

Enrico Baj
Installation view
Friedrich Petzel Gallery
2007

Enrico Baj Installation view

Enrico Baj
Installation view
Friedrich Petzel Gallery
2007

Enrico Baj Installation view

Enrico Baj
Installation view
Friedrich Petzel Gallery
2007

Enrico Baj Installation view

Enrico Baj
Installation view
Friedrich Petzel Gallery
2007

Enrico Baj Installation view

Enrico Baj
Installation view
Friedrich Petzel Gallery
2007

Model SR 319

Model SR 319
1964
Meccano sculpture
64.96 x 35.43 x 19.69 inches

Model DA-HE803 1964

Model DA-HE803
1964
Meccano sculpture
60.63 x 35.43 x 19.69 inches

Model AZ 220

Model AZ 220
1964
Meccano Sculpture
64.96 x 27.17 x 17.52 inches

Meccano 0-24701 1965

Meccano 0-24701
1965
Meccano sculpture
68.9 x 29.53 x 13.78 inches

Coppia 1963 Collage, cotton wadding, upholstery trim and Meccano on fabric

Coppia
1963
Collage, cotton wadding, upholstery trim and Meccano on fabric
44.88 x 57.48 inches/114 x 146 cm

Parata a Sei

Parata a Sei
1964
Oil, collage, cotton wadding, upholstery trim
74.8 x 188.98 inches

Generale 1961 Oil, collage, hemp and decorations on fabric

Generale
1961
Oil, collage, hemp and decorations on fabric
38.58 x 31.89 inches

Generale con braccia aperte

Generale con braccia aperte
1961
Oil, collage, upholstery trim on fabric
31.89 x 39.37 inches

Generale 1961 Oil, collage, decorations on fabric

Generale
1961
Oil, collage, decorations on fabric
57.48 x 44.88 inches

La Gemina Dora

La Gemina Dora
2002
Collage, pipe fittings on wallpaper on wood
54.72 x 78.74 inches

La Moscova 2002

La Moscova
2002
Collage, pipe fittings, wallpaper on wood
51.18 x 39.37 inches

La Neva 2002

La Neva
2002
Collage, pipe fittings, wallpaper on wood
51.18 x 39.37 inches

Ninette de Valois

Ninette de Valois
1974
Collage, upholstery trim, wallpaper on wood
57.48 x 44.88 inches

Ma petite 1961

Ma petite
1961
Collage, upholstery trim on fabric
31.5 x 23.62 inches

Talete 2002 Assemblage

Talete
2002
Assemblage
23.62 x 10.24 x 14.17 inches

Evangelista Torricelli 2002

Evangelista Torricelli
2002
Assemblage
24.02 x 10.24 x 14.17 inches

Celsius 2002 Assemblage

Celsius
2002
Assemblage
25.2 x 10.24 x 12.99 inches

Consolle 1961 Collage, wood veneer, mirror, and fabric on wood

Consolle
1961
Collage, wood veneer, mirror, and fabric on wood
28.74 x 21.26 inches

Petit meuble 1961

Petit meuble
1961
Oil, collage, wood inlay on fabric on wood
24.74 x 23.62 inches

Table 1961 Oil, collage, and wood inlay on fabric on wood

Table
1961
Oil, collage, and wood inlay on fabric on wood
19.69 x 32.68 inches

Personaggio 1961 Collage, wood inlay on fabric on wood

Personaggio
1961
Collage, wood inlay on fabric on wood
45.67 x 31.89 inches

Personaggio 1962 collage, wood inlay on fabric on wood

Personaggio
1962
collage, wood inlay on fabric on wood
39.37 x 31.89 inches/100 x 81 cm

Mobile 1971 Collage, objects, wood inlay on wood

Mobile
1971
Collage, objects, wood inlay on wood
23.62 x 11.81 inches

Mobile 1971 Collage, objects inlaid on wood

Mobile
1971
Collage, objects inlaid on wood
12.6 x 18.11 inches

Mobile 1971 Collage, objects inlaid on wood

Mobile
1971
Collage, objects inlaid on wood
12.6 x 18.11 inches

Des etres d'autres planets violaient nos femmes

Des etres d'autres planets violaient nos femmes
1959
Oil and collage, cotton, glass & fabric on canvas
28.35 x 36.22 inches

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Opening reception: Friday, May 4, 6-8 pm

Friedrich Petzel Gallery, in collaboration with Gio' Marconi Gallery and Archivio Baj, is pleased to announce the opening of a solo exhibition of works by the Italian artist Enrico Baj (1924-2003). The works, some of which have never before been exhibited in the United States, highlight the stylistic innovation of Baj, one of the most distinguished and controversial Italian artists of the 20th Century.

Artist, attorney, ironist, writer, sharp critic, and political dissenter, Enrico Baj brought an urgent, refreshing and unique voice to the art of his time. In 1951 he founded the Movimento d'Arte Nucleare (the Nuclear Art Movement, or Art for the Nuclear Age) with Sergio Dangelo whose manifesto stated that its members "desire to demolish all the 'isms' of painting that inevitably lapses into academicism, whatever their origins may be." Baj took inspiration from the most radical notion of Surrealism (he joined the COBRA Group in the late 1940s), adhered to Ubu's sardonic and rocambolesque spirit and André Breton (in Le Surréalisme et la peinture) claimed him for his movement. His work was acclaimed by Gillo Dorfles as kitsch pioneer and embraced by artists like Asger Jorn, Marcel Duchamp and Max Ernst. Baj's work reflected a necessity for continuous re-evaluation and renovation in which the experimental process took precedent over the realized objects.

The exhibition features works from various moments in Baj's output, spanning the late 1950s to 2002, including his Modificazioni paintings (1959-60), a visual farce in which Baj modified kitschy commercial paintings in order to push further still the Dada anti-art idea, and his Idraulica series (2002) consisting of sculptures and assemblages made from hydraulic plumbing fittings.

Also on view Baj's Generali, gorilla-like figures with ferocious expressions, laid down upon a floral fabric background, whose effeminacy clashes with the general's predatory qualities, making them even more absurd and demonstrating both the comedy and the tragedy of the frail human ego as it searches for validation and self-worth. A series of his portraits, assemblages in which Baj address the absurdity of human self-perception and a critic to the provincialism of the Italian bourgeoisie will also be exhibited.

Previous main exhibitions include: The Art of Assemblage, MoMA, New York, 1961; Pittura a Milano dal 1945 al 1964, Milan, 1964; XXII Biennale di Venezia, Venice, 1964; Baj's at Marconi, Studio Marconi, Milan, 1967; Gemeentemuseum, L'Aja, 1967; Palazzo Grassi, Venice, 1971; Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, 1971; Enrico Baj. Opere 1951-2001, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Roma, 2001/2002.

The exhibition opens on Friday, May 4 with a reception from 6-8 pm and remains on view through June 16, 2007. For further information, please contact the gallery at info@petzel.com, or call (212) 680-9467. Friedrich Petzel Gallery is located at 537 West 22nd Street New York, NY 10011.