Enrico Sirello, 1974 – Optical Composition With White Modules And Red Line

Enrico Sirello, 1974 – Optical Composition with White Modules and Red Line

Enrico Sirello (Livorno, 1930–2012)

Study for a mural (Bozzetto per murale), 1974

Acrylic on panel

35 × 35 cm

Signed, dated and titled on the reverse

Archive number: 05/1266

This work by Enrico Sirello belongs to the group of mural studies produced in the mid-1970s, during a key phase of his research into visual perception and programmed art. The composition is built from a sequence of repeated white modules set against a black ground, intersected at the top by a thin red horizontal line that introduces a strong directional tension.

The repetition of the forms generates a rhythmic optical effect that shifts as the viewer’s gaze moves across the surface. Rather than depicting objects, Sirello aimed to activate perception itself, transforming the painted surface into an active visual field. These studies reflect his interest in anisotropic effects, according to which visual perception changes depending on the direction of observation.

Conceived as a bozzetto per murale, this panel represents a conceptual and visual test intended for larger architectural projects. It stands at the intersection of geometric abstraction, Gestalt psychology, and the Italian Arte Programmata movement.

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

Frame: original simple wooden strip frame.

Enrico Sirello (1930–2012) was an Italian painter from Livorno and a significant figure in the Italian Arte Programmata movement. From the 1960s onward, he explored the relationship between art, science, and perception, developing a geometric visual language based on repetition, rhythm, and directional forces.

In 1965, he participated in the exhibition Strutture Significanti, accompanied by critical texts from Giulio Carlo Argan and other leading theorists of the time. His work transforms abstract painting into a perceptual experience, where seeing becomes an active and conscious process.