FrancoBemporad
Biography
Franco Bemporad (1926, Florence, Italy – 1989, Marciano della Chiana, Italy) was an influential Italian painter and screenwriter closely associated with the post-war avant-garde art scene. Originally trained in medicine and psychoanalysis in Florence, Bemporad shifted his focus to art and cinema after moving to Rome in 1952. He collaborated on film projects, including co-writing the screenplay for Francesco Maselli’s La donna del giorno (1957) alongside notable figures like Cesare Zavattini. In 1957, Bemporad presented his first solo exhibition titled "Segno e catrame" at Galleria Montenapoleone in Milan, showcasing innovative works that utilized unconventional materials such as tar. This exhibition featured contributions from Lucio Fontana and Bemporad himself. That same year, Bemporad co-authored the "Manifesto Contro lo Stile," together with artists including Yves Klein, Enrico Baj, and Piero Manzoni, asserting their commitment to artistic freedom beyond traditional stylistic constraints. Continuing to push artistic boundaries, Bemporad exhibited his "Peinture noir" series at Galerie Iris Clert in Paris in 1958, further exploring alternative materials and processes. Later that year, he began creating structured canvases characterized by repetitive graphic elements, culminating in another significant exhibition at Milan’s Galleria del Milione, introduced by critics Franco Russoli and Michel Tapié. In 1961, Bemporad became part of the artist collective "Continuità," alongside prominent artists such as Lucio Fontana and Piero Dorazio. The group's goal was to emphasize the individuality of each artist’s work, as articulated by critic Giulio Carlo Argan during their Milan exhibition at Galleria del Grattacielo. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Bemporad exhibited widely both in Italy and internationally, including participation at the XXXIII Venice Biennale in 1966. His later exhibitions, such as "Typewritings e Tele neutre" (1971) and a significant show featuring his pointillist sequences in 1974 at Milan's Salone Annunciata, demonstrated his evolving artistic practice, characterized by meticulous methodology and structural exploration. Bemporad’s notable works include "Struttura puntilistica" (1973) and "Struttura metodologica" (1979), highlighting his enduring interest in pointillism and rigorous structural experimentation. His artworks continue to appear at auctions and maintain recognition for their distinctive approach. Franco Bemporad’s lasting legacy lies in his inventive approaches to form, structure, and materials, marking him as a prominent contributor to Italy’s post-war artistic developments.
