STANDING PINE

STANDING PINE Tokyo is pleased to present a solo exhibition of Italian painter Gianfranco Zappettini, opening on Saturday, March 15. This marks Zappettini’s first solo exhibition in Tokyo.

Born in 1939 in Genoa, Italy, Gianfranco Zappettini is currently based in Chiavari, where he has continued his artistic practice since establishing his art foundation in 2003. As one of the leading figures who shaped postwar Italian art movement, ‘Pittura Analitica ‘(Analytic Painting), Zappettini developed a unique artistic approach, drawing resonance from American Minimalism and various European abstract traditions.

Zappettini is known for his ‘Tele Sovrapposte’ and ‘Superficie Analitica’ series, which were developed within the ‘Pittura Analitica’ movement. Throughout his six-decade career, he has continuously explored the materiality and process of painting, while persistently questioning its fundamental structures and concepts. His works have been exhibited in major institutions, including Westfälischer Kunstverein (Münster, Germany), Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris (Paris, France), Museo della Permanente (Milan, Italy), Contemporary Art Museum of Villa Croce (Genoa, Italy), and Vasarely Museum (Pécs, Hungary), gaining international recognition. In 1977, Zappettini participated in documenta 6 (Kassel, Germany) as a key figure in Pittura Analitica. In recent years, his work has been reexamined in relation to Lucio Fontana’s Concetto ‘Spaziale (Spatial Concept)’.

This exhibition will feature valuable early works from the 1970s. These include pieces from his ‘Tele Sovrapposte’ and ‘Superficie Analitica’ series, alongside recent series ‘La trama e l'ordito (The Weft and the Warp)’, which incorporates a variety of colours, including red and blue. The style in the latter series has been a focus of the artist’s practice in recent years.

The ‘Tele Sovrapposte’ series explores the relationship between visibility and invisibility, presence and absence, through repetitive pencil strokes drawn on an initial canvas, over which additional layers of canvas are applied. As each layer partially obscures the previous one, it simultaneously reveals the materiality of the painting and the process of perception.

In contrast, the ‘Superficie Analitica’ series features layers of acrylic paint applied to the surface, creating subtle changes and depth. These accumulated layers not only enhance visual depth but also serve as traces of time and memory, built up gradually through the painting process.

After studying at the Academy of Fine Arts of Carrara, Zappettini joined the studio of German architect Konrad Wachsmann in 1962. Their two-year collaboration profoundly influenced his artistic approach, fostering his interest in structuralist methodologies.

In 1971, he participated in the group exhibition ‘Arte Concreta’ at Westfälischer Kunstverein (Münster, Germany), exhibiting together with Lucio Fontana, Fausto Melotti, Bruno Munari, and Enzo Mari. Following this, he worked with Klaus Honnef, the curator of the exhibition, and German artist Winfried Gaul to establish and further develop the theoretical foundation of ‘Analytic Painting.’

The ‘Analytic Painting’ movement emphasized process and activity over the finished work. Many artists embraced this ideology, making it a pivotal artistic movement in 1970s Italy. By expanding the possibilities of painting as a medium, they challenged conventional perceptions of space and sought to develop a new visual language that redefined the act of painting itself.

In the late 1970s, after participating in numerous exhibitions and international shows, Zappettini began to reflect not only on painting itself but also on his own existence. This led him to embark on extensive travels across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. These experiences profoundly shaped his work, leading to a deeper engagement with Zen Buddhism, Taoism (particularly Laozi’s philosophy), and Sufism, which he encountered in the African desert. As a result, his work became increasingly conceptual and symbolic. His focus shifted from 'the process of making' to 'the process of thinking,' culminating in the 2000s with his ‘La trama e l'ordito (The Weft and the Warp)’ series, which explores specific colours. To this day, he remains an active and prolific artist.

Zappettini’s work seems to be deeply influenced by what is unseen. His paintings possess a spiritual beauty that transcends deliberately constructed materiality. Due to these conceptual parallels, recent discussions have drawn connections between his work and Japan’s ‘Mono-ha’ and Korea’s ‘Dansaekhwa’ movements.

The accumulated layers of paint obscure the original colours on the canvas, creating a paradoxical interplay of presence and absence. The paintings embody both the fullness brought by the built-up layers and the void left by the traces of vanished colours. It evokes an aesthetic of subtraction that paradoxically emerges through addition.

What is invisible can be just as beautiful—if not more so—than what is seen. From distant Italy,

Zappettini’s ‘paintings of silence’ whisper this truth to us. 

Date: Saturday 15th March – Saturday 5th April
Hours: 12:00 - 18:00 (From Tuesday to Saturday)
Closed on Sunday, Monday and National holidays
Opening reception: Saturday 15th March, 17:00 – 19:00

Misteri 1, 01.07.04 / mixed media /  120 x 120 cm / 2004

La trama e l'ordito n.75 / Acrylic, fassadenputz and wallnet on canvas /100 x 100 cm / 2016

La trama e l'ordito n.17 / mixed media / 130 x 110 cm / 2009

La trama e l'ordito n.17 / mixed media / 130 x 110 cm / 2009

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