Carla Accardi (1924)

Carla Accardi (1924-2014): Italian painter who contributed to the establishment of abstractionism

Carla Accardi (1924). Italian painter. In 1949 she created for her own use a sculpture-brooch in gold with diamonds, pearls and corals. In the post-war period it is one of the most important pieces of art-jewelry directly inspired by a work in gouache from the period of Forma 1, the name by which a group of Italian abstract artists described themselves.

Carla Accardi exhibition

Childhood

Accardi was born in Trapani in 1924 into a wealthy family, which recognized her great talent and supported her in her creative studies. Thus Carla was able to study in Florence and Rome where she came into contact with the artistic environment of the time.

The years of abstractionism

In Rome she began to frequent the cultural circles inherent in abstractionism and, here, became the only woman to be part of the Forma group along with Dorazio, Perilli, Consagra, Turcato and Sanfilippo, who would later become her husband. The group had the ambition to:

Change the world with Marxism, psychoanalysis, but also with abstractionism.

In the cultural milieu of the time, the group of abstractionists used to clash with other artistic groups, such as the figurative artists, of which we remember figures such as Scipione and Guttuso being part. The topics of debate were not only artistic, for example, the figuratives supported socialist realism and neorealism, but also political.

An interesting event in this regard can be traced back to 1952 when newspapers such as L’Unità and La Rinascita “excommunicated” abstractionism as an artistic current because it was unable to narrate reality (the goal of art).

The Feminist Years

From the 1970s onward, the artist devoted herself to a feminist project together with Carla Lonzi and Elvira Banotti. With them she formed the group “Rivolta Femminile,” whose manifesto was drafted at Banotti’s home in Tratevere. Carla’s exhibition at Museo del novecento

The Women’s Revolt.

When the movement was at its height, however, she decided to break away from it as she realized that she was essentially an artist and only accidentally a woman. In the following years she was appointed a member of the Brera Academy (1996), and in the following year she acquired the role of adviser on the Commission for the Venice Biennale.

In ’98 her hometown of Trapani dedicated a retrospective exhibition to her in the Badia Grande Church. Suddenly on Feb. 23, 2014, the artist experienced an illness and was rushed to the hospital in Rome. Unfortunately, there was nothing to be done and Carla Accardi died shortly after arriving in the emergency room. The funeral was held on February 28, 2014 at the Campidoglio.

Accardi, Carla