Giò Pomodoro, 1989. “Studio per 'Sole', Casa della giovane, Lugano”

The artwork

Commissioned by Fornace S.Anselmo to Giò Pomodoro, the work reveals a project dated 1989 for the Casa della giovane in Lugano.
"Sole" is currently visible on the facade of the building, built in 1901 with the aim of protecting and welcoming young women in difficulty.

In the lower right, it is possible to observe the artist’s notes, precious structural and aesthetic details for the perfect success of the terracotta piece.

The artist

Giò Pomodoro (Orciano di Pesaro, 17 November 1930 - Milan, 21 December 2002) was an Italian sculptor, goldsmith, engraver and set designer, besides being the younger brother of the sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro.
One of the most influential international sculptors of the 20th century, Giò studied at the technical institute for surveyors in Pesaro, a city where he learned chiselling, in the workshop of an elderly goldsmith. In 1954 he moved to Milan where, immersed in a lively artistic environment, he began to exhibit his works in 1955, and then moved on to the Biennale of Venice, Florence, Rome, and beyond national borders.
From the 70s on, he entered the last two cycles of his artistic life, in which he dedicated himself to numerous monumental works at his studio in Querceta of Seravezza in Versilia.
He also created the sets for Verdi’s opera La forza del destino and, in 1980, he took care of the scenography of Mozart’s Magic Flute, performed at La Fenice in Venice.
In 1984 he took part in his fourth and last Venice Biennale.

He died in his studio in Via San Marco, Milan, on 21 December 2002.