(born in Andorno Micca, Piedmont, in 1944; lives in Turin)
Stella di rame, 1978, signed and dated G. Zorio 78, copper, black acrylic enamel and leather tanned with tannin, 185 x 157 cm (mounted on wood panel)

Photo certificate issued by the artist

Provenance:
Galleria Oredaria, Rome – there acquired by the present owner
Private Collection, Italy

In the preface to the catalogue of Gilberto Zorio’s exhibition at the Oredaria Gallery in 2003, Achille Bonito Oliva traced a clear profile of the artistic landscape of the Sixties, within which Zorio was a standout figure.
“The art of the Sixties overcame many trials, which were also to do with phenomena linked and pertinent to politics, and to the struggles of the youth movement and of feminism. It participated in the attempt to develop a different and alternative mentality. The relationship between nature and culture found the possibility of articulating itself in art according to new ways of thinking, seeing, and feeling. The desire to deconstruct, which presided over the transformations of the Sixties, is clearly evident in the work of many artists. As always, art leaps over the present and rides on the future.
The microcosm of the work of art references the macrocosm of the world, and looks to found a place of intense totality, where it is possible to connect physical, psychic, and social forces in the artistic process.”
The five-pointed star appears to establish a link between the conscious and the subconscious, and is a recurrent image in the work of Gilbert Zorio. His pronounced, ambivalent symbolism recalls the cosmos, the light of the spirit and of knowledge, as well as the four natural elements of water, air, earth, and fire. Zorio developed the image of the star through different expressive media from laser to glass, terracotta to leather, glorifying the purificatory aspect of this celestial body.
“Stella di giavellotti” [Javelin Star] (1974), “Stella di cristallo” [Crystal Star] (1976), “Stella per purificare le parole” [Star to Purify Words] (1978-80).

“The star theme is to some extent my self-portrait…
the star represents the power of the image…”
Gilberto Zorio, Prato 1992