Alberto Biasi: interview

In conversation with Studio International, Alberto Biasi reveals the singular motivations behind his work and its sometimes unexpected origins. He also sheds light on the processes involved in the creation of visually dynamic objects and how his infinitesimally precise manipulation of material and light evoke an intangible yet startlingly real dimension, to hypnotic effect

Part one: Optical-dynamic, Gruppo N, Arte Programmata, Olivetti, Umberto Eco

Part two: Kinetic Art, Gestalt, Responsive Eye, MoMA

The mesmerising works of Alberto Biasi, a pioneer of kinetic art, are currently on display in London. Fully receptive to the projections of the spectator, his optical/dynamic art recalls the concept of Umberto Eco’s “open work”, serving as an autobiographical receptacle of each viewer’s subjective experience.

If Marcel Duchamp notably distinguished between the retinal and the cerebral, Biasi’s virtual kinetic works, hovering in a dimension beyond painting and sculpture, refute such divisions. As a founder of Gruppo N, one of a series of sometimes overlapping collectives such as Zero and Azimut, Biasi and his colleagues also created some influential exhibition models that sought to bridge the gap between art and life.

Alberto Biasi, Optical/Dynamic 1959-2012
The Mayor Gallery, London
29 October – 19 December 2014

Interview by ANGERIA RIGAMONTI di CUTÒ
Filmed by MARTIN KENNEDY