UGO STERPINI: biography

Ugo Sterpini (Rome, 1927 – Cavriago, 2000)

Ugo Sterpini was born in Rome in 1927. After attending the Academy of Nude, he got involved with the abstract explorations of the Forma 1 group and had the opportunity to participate in international exhibitions with the Art Club of Rome.

In the early 1950s, he abandoned post-cubist abstraction to focus on painting that emphasized the value of signs, resulting in the Chromatic Iterations series, in dialogue with contemporary works, especially those of Capogrossi and Cagli. In 1951, he exhibited at the Abstract and Concrete Art in Italy at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome.

His exhibition activity intensified in the first half of the 1950s. In 1955, he created the series Lists of Symbolisms and Sands, paralleling the explorations of Novelli, Perilli, and artists linked to the magazine “L’Esperienza moderna.”

His involvement with the Origine group expanded his references to international non-figurative culture. From 1959, Sterpini returned to figuration, maintaining a strong materic aspect. In the same year, he participated in the VIII Rome Quadriennale, and in 1962, he held a solo exhibition at the Nuova Pesa gallery in Rome, curated by Enrico Crispolti, also participating in the “Current Alternatives” exhibition. In 1964, together with Fabio De Sanctis, he founded “Officina Undici” with the aim of creating surrealist furniture, an experience that ended in 1966.

Sterpini’s works were presented by André Breton, who welcomed him into the surrealist movement. From 1966, he began painting “Gardens” and “Female Fantasy” series, developed in six episodes, and in 1967, inspired by Max Ernst, he created the character “Mummy Fish,” central in his works until the late 1970s.

At the same time, he dedicated himself to scenography and costumes for cinema, collaborating with Petri and Bellocchio in films such as “A Quiet Place in the Country” (1968) and “Todo Modo” (1975), and working for theaters in Rome.

From 1967, Sterpini prefered the assemblage technique, with which he created plastic objects along with three-dimensional paintings and drawings. In 1977, he moved to Reggio Emilia and, thanks to Rosanna Chiessi, met the artists from Fluxus’ group.

In the 1980s, he began a new cycle dedicated to Pulcinella; he spent his last years in Cavriago (RE), where he died in October 2000. Part of his works was donated to the Study Centre and Communication Archive by the author himself in 1998 and others by his heirs in 2002.