Piero Manzoni up for Auction in Denmark

Piero Manzoni’s (1933-63) artwork ”Achrome” is estimated at DKK 1.5-2 million and it was made during his time as artist in residence in Denmark during the first years of the 1960s. The years in Denmark were quite important for Manzoni’s work in the time before his premature death. During the stay, he created a number of iconic happenings and works of art, including the work up for auction.

The Emptiness of Art: "Achrome"

"Achrome" consists of natural fibre mounted on a cotton-covered wooden board, referencing the textile industry that Manzoni became acquainted with in Denmark. The artist wanted to create works that were neutral and could not be associated with anything – and instead became an expression of total emptiness. The result became a number of acromas, which are colourless images created by for instance natural fibres, as is the case with the offered work.

The Meeting between an Italian Avant-garde artist and a Shirt Manufacturer from Jutland

Manzoni was one of the most prominent exponents of the conceptual art of the 1960s, where the idea is the focal point rather than the method. He created artwork made of materials such as cotton wool and straw, placed his fingerprints on eggs, packaged his breath and canned his own faeces. Provocative and ground-breaking works of art that have made Piero Manzoni a famous and notorious name worldwide.

What fewer people know, however, is that he has a connection to Denmark. This is due to the foresight and artistic interest of the local shirt manufacturer, Aage Damgaard (1917-1991), who invited Piero Manzoni to decorate his textile factory Angli in the city of Herning and gave Manzoni total artistic autonomy in his work. At the same time, Manzoni's works were exhibited in Copenhagen by the gallerist Arthur Köpcke. With Manzoni's residency in Herning and Copenhagen, one of the 1960s most important and most radical avant-garde artists in the world became part of Danish art history.

Provenance and Documentation

The current owner of the "Achrome" was a gallery assistant in Copenhagen in the early 1960s and acquired the piece through his employer at Galerie Köpcke in 1962. In 1989, the work was presented to Dr Freddy Battino from Galleria Blu in Milan in connection with the preparation of the catalogue raisonné in which it is included (Battino / Palazzoli no. 685 + Celant no. 901). The piece has, to the best of our knowledge, not been on display or offered up for auction on any other occasion.

On Display in Paris and London / Auction in Copenhagen

Manzoni’s "Achrome" will be sold at auction at Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers of Fine Art on 5 December at Bredgade 33 in Copenhagen. Beforehand, it will be exhibited at the gallery Drouot in Paris on 21-22 September and gallery Shapero Modern in London on 5-8 November.