Raffael Benazzi was born in Switzerland in 1933. While a teenager, he was educated in craft techniques but later continued to study sculpture. In the mid-1950s, Benazzi settled in Italy, where he continues to reside in the San Vincenzo region. Between 1954 and 1965, Benazzi maintained a close relationship with German abstract artist, Julius Bissier. It was during that same period that the artist’s work changed direction, moving from figurative, carved wood and stone sculptures, to abstract, welded iron reliefs. However, Benazzi most enjoyed the challenge of manipulating “living” material, whose texture resisted him and had been marked by life. For example, Benazzi directly carves alabaster and eucalyptus trunks into powerful, voluptuous forms that remain true to the character and natural kinetics of the original stone and wood respectively. Benazzi’s sculptures possess the certitude of primitive idols with no distinct historical context. The pieces are often split or hollowed out and invite the eye to penetrate the shadowed interior. Like Etienne-Martin, but in his own idiom, Benazzi offers us dwellings as attractive and satisfying to the mind as to the senses. Primavera (Figure No. 1439), cast in bronze, dates from a time early in Benazzi’s career, 1967-68. The swelling, rounded forms are arranged symmetrically and while abstract, the composition evokes references to the female figure and is representative of the cavernous voluptuous forms that typify his oeuvre. This work was once owned by the Andre Emmerich Gallery in New York City, NY and is now part of the permanent collection of Grounds For Sculpture. Benazzi has had many solo exhibitions in his native Switzerland and in Italy and Germany as well, some of which include: Galerie La Cittadelle, Ascona, Switzerland; Galerie Numage, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland; Galerie Lienhard, Zurich, Germany; among many more. His work has also been shown in New York City at Andre Emmerich Gallery. He was awarded the Jean Arp Prize for sculpture in 1966 and participated in the Venice Biennale in 1978. Benazzi has been the subject of two documentary films by Condor Film AG, Zurich, Germany (1968) and by Cine Groupe for Swiss Television (1969-70). Works by Raffael Benazzi currently on view in the sculpture park: Primavera (Figure No. 1439), 1967-68
cast bronze
42” x 42” x 42”
Courtesy of The Sculpture Foundation, Inc. |
