In 1973, a printmaking studio in Venice – Centro Internazionale Della Grafica Venezia – commissioned nineteen artists to respond to Venice. The portfolio, titled Venice Yesterday Today Tomorrow, brings together senior Italian artists. Disparate in style and philosophy, these works present a portal into the lineage, tensions and desires of Venice, once the heart of Western art.

Reminiscent of a Rorschach inkblot test, Marcello Mascherini’s ‘Untitled (Abstract Character)’ invites endless interpretation. Is it a shadowy, fantastical figure? An animal, perhaps a horse?
Whatever it may be, the bold brushstrokes are a curious evocation of movement and shape, igniting the viewer’s imagination as they attempt to derive meaning from the mysterious image.

Primarily a sculptor, Mascherini exhibited eleven times at the Venice Biennale. He is represented in the collection of San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art and across his career won numerous awards including Gold Medal for Sculpture at the International Exhibition in Budapest, 1938.

Striking in its simplicity, ‘Untitled (Abstract Character)’ will enrich collections of twentieth century art.

Marcello MASCHERINI (1906 - 1983)
'Untitled (Abstract Character)' 1973
screenprint on paper
Edition of 100
Image Size: 49 x 54 cm
Dimensions: 50 x 70 cm
Signed: Signed lower right; editioned lower left. Comitato aiap Italiano; embossed lower right.
Comes with Letter of Provenance

From Venezia Ieri Oggi Domani published by the Centro Internazionale Della Grafica Venezia 1973.

Condition: Very Good: Describes a work of art's image as Excellent, but may show some small signs of surrounding wear to paper or frame. There are no tears to paper margin or disruption to the paint surface.

© The Artist or Assignee