Arturo Vermi was born in Bergamo in 1928. A self-educated artist, his artworks of the Fifties are similar to German Expressionism. Later he frequented the artistic environment of Brera in Milan where he met Constantino Guenzi, and his artworks changed to Informal Art. In 1959 he moved to Paris for a couple of years, where he associated with some ateliers before returning to Milan where, in 1961, together with Agostino Ferrari, Ettore Sordini, Ugo La Pietra, Angelo Verga and the poet Alberto Lùcia he founded the Cenobio Group in 1961. The life of this group would be short, but still very important for the analysis of symbolic sign. In 1964 the artist lived in the Quartiere delle Botteghe in Sesto San Giovanni together with other artists such as Bonalumi, Castellani, Carnà, Marzulli and Lino Tinè. In 1967 Arturo Vermi was close to Lucio Fontana and developed his concept of space during this period. In the artworks of the Seventies, the cosmic vision became central to his work and in this moment he creates Piattaforme with jutting out elements. Piattaforme also gives off light thanks to the use of gold foil. In 1975 Arturo Vermi developed his idea of happiness, a very important subject for the artist. The concept of happiness led him to the first issue of magazine Azzurro and of Manifesto del Disimpegno. In 1978 a second version of Azzurro was distrubited to the Biennale di Venezia. In 1980 he made and engraved Le Sequoie: Tables of the Commandments. Later, Arturo Vermi produced the cycle of I Colloqui with a great desire to relate himself to and to affirm his own dimension in a free space. In 1984 he created L’Annologio, a more human time meter aimed at protecting the concept of Happiness. Arturo Vermi died in Paderno on 10th October 1988.

Photo Credits: Uliano Lucas