Trapani, 1924 – Rome, 2014

Carla Accardi was born in Trapani on October 9th, 1924. After the diploma in classical studies, in 1943 she attended courses at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. In 1946 she settled in Rome together with the painter Antonio Sanfilippo, whom she married a few years later. In Rome, Accardi met artists such as Consagra, Attardi, Dorazio, Guerrini, Perilli and Turcato, with whom she signed the manifesto of the Forma 1 group in 1947. She took part in various group exhibitions in Italy and abroad and in 1950, she held her first solo show at the Galleria Age D’Or in Rome, with a presentation by Giulio Turcato.

During the Fifties, the artist developed a research based on a poetic of the sign, which is articulated in sets of white pictorial segments spread over black backgrounds. In 1959, two major solo shows took place: at the Galleria La Salita in Rome and at the Galleria Notizie in Turin with a presentation by Michel Tapié.
Accardi’s artistic research has been characterized by a continuous experimentation of new techniques and materials such as transparent surfaces of sicofoil.

In 1988 the artist exhibited at the Venice Biennale with a personal room. Numerous solo exhibitions have been hosted by international galleries and renown public institutions.
In 1996, she was conferred the title of “Academic of Brera” in Milan, and the honor of Cavaliere di Gran Croce from the President of the Republic in Rome.
The artist died in Rome on February 23rd, 2014.

© ACCARDI CARLA, by SIAE