Mario Ceroli

MARIO CEROLI Castel Frentano, 1939

Mario Ceroli studied at the Institute of Art in Rome and immediately began working by attending the studios of Leoncillo, Pericle Fazzini, and Ettore Colla. Initially, he reproduced ceramic sculptures, but in the 1960s, he became impressed by the Pop Art works of Louise Nevelson and Joe Tilson, which led him to use the materials and forms that would later characterize all of his creations: wooden silhouettes of shaped objects, his preferred medium, devoid of color and sometimes repeated in series. In 1957, he exhibited some works at the National Gallery of Modern Art, which earned him the first prize for sculpture among young Italian artists, with a jury composed of Argan, Brandi, and Bucarelli. This marked the beginning of his growing success, both nationally and internationally. Among his countless works, notable pieces include "Uomo di Leonardo" from 1964, the first "Ultima Cena" from 1965 at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome, "La Cina" from 1966, "Cassa Sistina" from 1966, and his tempera and ink drawings "La porta," "Il Cenacolo" from 1981, and "Il Giorno e la Notte" from 1982. Between 1967 and 1968, Ceroli participated in exhibitions with the Arte Povera group. In 1988, he created the so-called "Casa del Nettuno" in Bologna, a wooden container embellished with a silhouette titled "Uomo Gallegiante." He designed the interiors of various churches, such as the Church of Porto Rotondo in 1971, Santa Maria Madre del Redentore in Tor Bella Monaca, Rome in 1987, and San Carlo Borromeo at the Naples Business Center in 1990. In the same year, his golden-covered wooden sculpture, the "Unicorno Alato," was exhibited at the entrance of the Rai headquarters in Saxa Rubra. Ceroli also had an intense activity as a set designer, collaborating with the Teatro Stabile in Turin for Shakespeare's "Richard III" directed by Ronconi in 1968, and with La Scala in Milan for Vincenzo Bellini's "Norma." His sculptures often contain references to famous works of the past, such as those by Leonardo, where he paraphrased the drawing of the "Vitruvian Man" with his wooden works, like "Disequilibrium" in 1967 and "Ultima Cena" in 1981, created with painted wood. In 1997, he donated a copy of the wooden sculpture of the "Vitruvian Man" to his hometown of Castel Frentano, which was placed in the Concezione Square. In 2007, he participated in the official reopening of the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome after extensive renovations, with a selection of his major works. In 2008, the Municipal Council of Siena entrusted Ceroli with the task of painting the "drappellone" for the Palio on August 16, dedicated to the Madonna Assunta and won by the Contrada del Bruco. Crispolti emphasized that the playful and ironic aspect of Ceroli's work is manifested in the serialization of the silhouettes.