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Artists from A-Z Guglielmo Tavernaro

1909–1989

  • Komposition 74 (1974)
    Komposition 74
    Artist: Guglielmo Tavernaro Dating: 1974 Type: Painting Material: Oil and collage on Pavatex Measures: 41,8 x 41,8 cm Acces / purchase date: 1979 Inventory number: 0438
Guglielmo ‘Willy’ Tavernaro concentrated on abstract art from the very beginning of his career. As a prolific painter, he created his own pictorial vocabulary composed of geometric forms.

Inspired by avant-garde movements from the first half of the 20th century, notably Suprematism and Cubism, many of Tavernaro’s paintings explore horizontal and vertical fields, recalling Neo-Plasticistic pieces of the Dutch De Stijl group. Perhaps the most characteristic element in his paintings is their bold composition and structure; they possess an architectural quality which confers a striking unity to his body of works.

Tavernaro employed a wide range of media: from oils, pencil, and collage elements with letters, to newspaper clippings and fragments of coloured paper. These vernacular elements, in particular, place his work within a daily context and evoke – at the same time – reminiscence of the past.

Exploring form and colour was paramount for Tavernaro. Using various colour palettes, from earthy greys and greens to shining reds, blues and yellows, he created a series of paintings that remain both modern and dynamic to this date.

Riitta Thorens-Hietanen