Enrico Sirello, 1975 – “white Hourglass Form With Red Axis”, Study For A Mural Acrylic On Panel

Enrico Sirello, 1975 – “White Hourglass Form with Red Axis”, Study for a Mural

Acrylic on panel, 35 × 35 cm

Signed, dated and titled on the reverse — Archive no. 05/…

This panel belongs to the group of mural studies that Enrico Sirello developed in the mid-1970s, at the height of his research on anisotropic effects and visual perception.

The composition features a large white hourglass-shaped form containing a rhythm of segmented black fields, intersected by a single red vertical line. The whole structure creates a subtle optical vibration that shifts as the viewer moves their gaze.

Sirello’s artistic research was grounded in the idea that vision is never static but an active process. These works stand at the intersection of art, Gestalt psychology, and the study of how form, color and direction influence perception.

He described them as “night observations”, emerging “from the darkness of the mind” during long moments of silent concentration. The shapes, though evocative of silhouettes or objects, do not represent anything real: they are mental constructions, visual notes leading toward larger projects.

This panel reflects Sirello’s mature approach: a controlled structure, an activated optical field, and a dominant directional force (the red axis) that sets the interior space in motion.

Condition: good original condition, stable surface, minor age-related wear.

Frame: original black wooden strip frame.

Biography

Enrico Sirello (Livorno, 1930–2012) is a key figure of the Livorno avant-garde and the Italian Arte Programmata movement. From the 1960s onward he developed a geometric language grounded in perception, the analysis of visual phenomena, and the application of Gestalt psychology to abstract painting.

In 1965 he participated in the exhibition Strutture Significanti with Baldi, Cannilla, Drei, Glattfelder, Guerrieri, Lazzari, Lorenzetti, Masi, Pace and Pesciò, accompanied by critical essays by Giulio Carlo Argan, Germano Beringheli, and Emilio Garroni.

For Sirello, art was a mental laboratory — a way to turn thought into image and offer the viewer an active perceptual experience.